Pregnant Duchess of Cambridge shows off her hockey skills during penalty shoot out in Stockholm

1/25
Robert Jobson31 January 2018

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge renewed their friendly sporting rivalry today - with a royal command performance on ice.

The couple, decked out in winter clothes and woolly hats in Stockholm, have taken each other on around the world at sports including cricket, archery and rowing.

Today they tried their hands at bandy, a form of ice hockey played in Sweden.

Pregnant Kate, whose third child is expected in April, happily took part in an impromptu penalty shoot out in front of locals.

Wearing a Burberry coat and a sweater by Swedish designer Fjallraven, she and William first drank an alcohol-free tipple from a flask brought in a bandy portfolj - a briefcase that traditionally contains a flask of warm wine or coffee laced with alcohol.

After being told of the rudiments of the game, they then took to the ice via a red carpet.

William and Kate both missed their first penalties and scored their second.

But Kate lost out when William scored his final shot and she missed hers.

The sport is part of Sweden’s national culture, with top games drawing crowds of 30,000 or more.

Frosty fun: The game features a ball instead of a puck
Getty Images

It is said to have originated in Cambridgeshire in the 1800s and involves of teams of 11 hitting a ball, rather than a puck.

Players use a curved stick, called the bandy.

Brave: Kate took to the ice despite being about six months pregnant
PA

Kate has shown off her skills on the hockey pitch in the past and was captain at Marlborough College, while her husband showed off his ice hockey prowess during a recent visit to a Helsinki rink.

Afterwards the royal couple, travelling without their children George and Charlotte, enjoyed a lunch hosted by King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia of Sweden at the Royal Palace in Stockholm.

Taking aim: Kate took to the game with relish
PA

Later today they were set to walk through the picturesque cobbled streets from the Royal Palace to the Nobel Museum, accompanied by Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel.

During the walk they were set to meet members of the Swedish public in Stortorget, Stockholm’s oldest square.

The couple arrived in Stockholm on board a private charter plane late last night and are staying at the residence of the British ambassador in Stockholm.

They are making a two-day visit to Sweden before moving on to Norway on Thursday.

The Duchess of Cambridge met young Swedish hockey enthusiasts at the rink (REUTERS)
Reuters

Jason Knauf, the Cambridges’ communications secretary, said: “The duke and duchess have asked, as with previous overseas visits, that this tour allow them opportunities to meet as many Swedes and Norwegians as possible.

“Their royal highnesses will meet a wide variety of people, including children and young people, those working in the mental health sector, and leaders in business, academia and scientific research, government, civil society and the creative industries.”

It is thought the four-day tour may have originally been planned for late last year but was moved after Kate became pregnant and again suffered severe morning sickness.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in