Kate’s sporty, and competitive, side

No one doubts that the duchess of Cambridge is just as competitive an athlete as her sister Pippa is, especially after Thursday’s exhibition with the British Olympic teams. Ditching conservative dresses for a pair of tight coral jeans—and then worrying that they clashed against the Astroturf—and an official Olympic sweatshirt, she showed off her field hockey skills during an engagement with the country’s top athletes at the Olympic Park as their “Team GB” ambassador.

Kate fired shots at the goal until she finally nailed one, telling everyone, “Wow, that was no pressure then! I was determined to keep on going until I scored.”

She’s played for years, having been team captain at Marlborough College. The duchess recounted that experience to squad members: “I used to play at school and I remember my muscles at the beginning of the season were agony. I was striker so you had to get the timing exactly right, well that was the idea. I played on the left wing. I really enjoyed it.” She did, however, confess to being a bit jittery at playing in front of a phalanx of cameras, saying, “I haven’t played since I stopped so I am really nervous now.”

That evening she retreated to her usual monotone (boring) style—a plain grey frock by Orla Kiely—to indulge in another passion, art. She visited the Dulwich art gallery with her father and mother-in-law—otherwise known as Prince Charles and Camilla, duchess of Cornwall—to meet the students involved in the Great Art Quest, which is supported by Charles’s foundation.