The Princess of Wales hosted a reception at Hampton Court Palace yesterday afternoon for the World Cup winning England Wheelchair Rugby League Team.

Kate, 41, took over Prince Harry's former roles as Patron of the Rugby Football League and the Rugby Football Union in February last year after he and the Duchess of Sussex stood down as working royals.

The mother-of-three was all smiles as she spoke to members of the World Cup-winning squad and passed on her congratulations for their historic win, as well as discussing their experiences of the tournament and their plans for future competitions.

Almost 5,000 people watched the England team claim victory against France in Manchester back in November, with England captain Tom Halliwell, voted player of the match, scoring a dramatic late try to secure a 28-24 victory. The fixture was also watched by a seven-figure broadcast audience.

Her Royal Highness heard about the impact that the Men's, Women's and Wheelchair competitions being played concurrently during the World Cup, a breakthrough moment in the tournament's history, has had on the sport.

Wheelchair Rugby League was founded in France in 2004. The sport is open to all, including those with or without disabilities, with men and women playing on the same team.

England's victory in November was not the first time the nation has tasted glory after winning the first ever Wheelchair World Cup in 2008.

The princess told the players, ' bet you've been smiling since your win, you've all got used to smiling' and added that the final 'really raised the profile' of wheelchair rugby, saying it 'highlighted the power of the sport'.

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When one of the squad remarked that he wanted to see her visit and try playing with them in a wheelchair, she quipped: 'There's no excuse now…I'm going to have to do some upper body strength.

'I'm really proud and really grateful we got this opportunity and best of luck for the training and the season and I promise I'm going to come and see you for some games.'

Speaking to the Daily Mail, Tom Coyd, the squad's head coach, said: "Her Royal Highness is just so engaging. It's probably the most privileged we have felt since winning the World Cup…That was the icing on the cake.

"She said she'd watched the final with her kids and she knew loads about the sport already and was talking about how exciting it was, how it's really fierce in terms of collisions.

"She said it would be great for us to go and do an engagement session at the school where her children attend."