The Rugby Football Union is the governing body of rugby in England. The body has a lot of tradition within it and is associated heavily with the English royal family.
Who are the royal patrons of the rugby football union? The Princess of Wales, Kate Middleton, is the current royal patron for the rugby football union.
The Rugby Football Union has been the governing body of rugby in England since it was formed in 1871. Since 1952 there has been a royal patron associated with the rugby football union, with many members of the royal family being seen at England games in the past.
The current patron of the Rugby Football Union is the Princess of Wales Kate Middleton. She took over the role in February 2022, with the RFU releasing a statement at the start of the month in an announcement. In that statement, it spoke about Middleton’s long standing passion for sport.
The statement came from RFU CEO Bill Sweeney and it said “It is a great honour to welcome the Duchess of Cambridge as our Patron”. “Our aim is to enrich lives, introduce more people to rugby union, develop the sport for future generations and create a successful thriving game across the country”.
The statement also said “As rugby clubs have re-opened across the country, players, officials and volunteers are celebrating being back in the game together, and we know the support of The Duchess will be greatly valued by our grassroots clubs and fast-growing women and girls game, right up to our elite men’s and women’s England teams.
Much as the previous royal patrons of the RFU, Kate Middleton also became the royal patron of the Rugby Football League at the same time.
The point of a royal patron is to further the reputation of the game and bring it to more people across the country which was part of the statement released. The statement came when the RFU did not have a royal patron as they had previously had Prince Harry as royal patron, but he gave up that role in February 2021.
Before Prince Harry, Queen Elizabeth 2nd had been the royal patron of the RFU, holding the position from 1952 until December 2016 when Harry took over.
Is Prince Harry the patron of the Rugby Football Union?
Prince Harry is no longer the royal patron of the Rugby Football Union, he held the role until February 2021 when he gave it up along with the majority of his royal duties. Harry had become the royal patron of the RFU in December 2016, taking over from Queen Elizabeth the 2nd who had been the patron of the RFU since 1952.
Prince Harry has always been known as a rugby fan, often being seen at England games at Twickenham, so it was hardly surprising for him to become the patron of the RFU, in order to further the game of rugby. But when Prince Harry gave up the majority of his royal duties at the start of 2021, this included being the Royal Patron of the RFU.
Who is the Royal Patron of the Welsh Rugby Union?
In the same way that the RFU has a royal patron, the Welsh Rugby Union also has a royal patron. Unsurprisingly, the Prince of Wales is the Royal Patron of the Welsh Rugby Union. Prince William has always been a rugby fan and first became the vice-Royal Patron of the Welsh Rugby Union in February 2007, before taking over as Royal Patron.
It is a role that Prince William takes pretty seriously as he has been a fan of the Welsh Rugby team for many years. He is often seen at Wales games as well as former international players saying he was a regular in the Welsh dressing room after games. It will now start to create a bit more intrigue around games between Wales and England, with Prince Williams’s wife, Kate Middleton, being the Royal Patron of the Rugby Football Union in England.
Who is the Royal Patron of the Scottish Rugby Union?
The Royals are big rugby fans and royal patronage is something that has extended throughout England, Wales and Scotland. Much like the rugby unions of Wales and England, Scotland’s Rugby Union has a Royal Patron. Anne, Princess Royal is the Royal Patron of the Scottish Rugby Union.
It is hardly surprising that Princess Anne is the Royal Patron of the Scottish Rugby Union, a role which she has held since 1986. Princess Anne was known as Princess Anne of Edinburgh when she was born and has always had an association with the country. It adds a royal bit of intrigue to the Six Nations as three of the teams involved have a different Royal Patron.
What does a royal patron do?
A royal patronage is something that many sporting unions have across England, Wales and Scotland. Having a royal as the figurehead of sporting unions has been a tradition for many years. It is a pretty much ceremonial title as the role does not bring many responsibilities to the holder.
But the whole idea of a royal patron is to provide publicity to the organisation that has a royal patronage. Royal Patrons will often make appearances at the unions or organisations that they serve and this can bring a huge amount of publicity to the organisations, whether they are in sport or not.
In terms of sport, most royal patrons will have some interest in the unions that they are involved with. For example, Prince William is the Royal Patron of the Welsh Rugby Union. As part of that role and being a fan of the team, he is often seen at Wales games and has been known to speak to the players after games.
Having a Royal Patron is certainly more about publicity than giving them any responsibilities, but it gives organisations status which is what most are looking for, as well as the extra publicity from having a royal involved with the union.