The Princess of Wales and the former Olympic cyclist share a longstanding friendship
The Princess of Wales was captured having an in-depth conversation with Sir Chris Hoy after they left the Commonwealth Games this weekend.
Catherine and the Wales family sat behind Sir Chris, who was beside the Duchess of Edinburgh, as they watched the cycling in the Sir Chris Hoy Velodrome.
Both the princess and former cyclist have endured very public battles with cancer - the six-time Olympic gold medallist living with a terminal stage four prostate cancer diagnosis, and the future queen having completed half a year of preventative chemotherapy two years ago.
The pair's warm and prolonged discussion resulted in Catherine keeping William and the children waiting until she had finished their conversation.
This struck a chord with viewers across social media. One user on X noted that Catherine appeared "genuinely engrossed in the conversation" with the 50-year-old cycling legend, while another remarked it was "one thing amongst many" that makes her "so loved."
The two share a genuine friendship. The princess invited Sir Chris to her annual Together at Christmas carol concert in 2024, shortly after announcing she had finished her course of treatment.
Sir Chris, widely regarded as Britain's finest ever cyclist, received his devastating diagnosis in 2024, when the disease was found to have spread to his bones. He has publicly stated that doctors gave him between two and four years to live.
The Scotsman, who earned an MBE in 2005 for his services to cycling, was accompanied at Saturday's event by his wife, Sarra Kemp.
The Waleses' trip on Saturday marked a significant occasion for more reasons than one, with Prince Louis making his first appearance at a sporting event.
The eight-year-old was seen beaming while wearing a bucket hat, staring with his head in his hands, and later captured yawning in the stands, where he sat between his older siblings, Prince George, 13, and Princess Charlotte, 11.
The young prince also offered an honest assessment of his gymnastic abilities when chatting with bronze medal-winning twin gymnasts Abigail and Emily Roper.
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"Louis, you're perfecting your handstand at the moment," Catherine said, to which Louis, arms folded, gave a measured reply: "A bit, but Charlotte says I'm not very good."
Prince George also refused when asked whether he wanted to watch his parents take on a tandem bicycle at the Glasgow velodrome.
The moment arose after five-time Olympic champion Dame Laura Kenny encouraged the Prince and Princess of Wales to try their hand at cycling.
Catherine told Welsh television presenter Gethin Jones: "Be careful what you wish for as they want to put us on a tandem bike in the velodrome."
When Mr Jones put the question directly to the Wales children, the 13-year-old immediately responded: "No."
Along with the cycling, the Wales children joined their parents to watch Australia take on Jamaica in netball.
