Princess Kate sends rare message for sport close to her heart after quietly posting never-before-seen picture

The Princess of Wales has shared a rare personal message on social media to congratulate the Great British sailing team who will compete for the America’s Cup for the first time since 1964.

Revealing that she has been keeping up with her favorite sports during the conclusion of her preventive chemotherapy treatments, Kate wrote: "Congratulations to @AinslieBen and the whole INEOS Britannia Team on qualifying for the 37th America’s Cup ! A fantastic display of teamwork, skill and determination. Best of luck for the final challenge!"

She closed out the message, posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, and Instagram, with the letter "C" to denote it was from her personally.

The original INEOS Brittania post revealed that they were the winners of the Louis Vuitton Cup after four-time Olympic sailing champion Ben Ainslie skippered the team to a 7-4 victory over Italy in a qualifying event in Barcelona; the team will now take on New Zealand for the trophy on October 12.

Sir Ben said he was “so proud of the team" and hailed the Italian Luna Rossa team as "amazing competitors".

© Karwai Tang

INEOS Britannia will face New Zealand in the final in a best-of-seven series.

The last time a British team made it to the final was 1964, when the Peter Scott-led team overcame a second British yacht, Kurrewa, to attain challenger status, but were routed 4-0 by America’s dominant New York Yacht Club.

Britain celebrated its first and only America’s Cup win in the inaugural regatta in 1851, when the Royal Yacht Squadron won a fleet race around the Isle of Wight.

© Antony Jones

Kate has long been a fan of sailing , famously going up against William several times in boat and sailing races.

In 2022 Kate even helped Sir Ben take on New Zealand in a nail-biting race for the Commonwealth Games, briefly taking control of the 49ft vessel to help lead the team to victory.

The post from the Princess of Wales comes hours after she and Prince William quietly shared a previously unseen photograph on their Instagram account.

The cover image for their August highlights on the social media platform featured the pair wearing Team GB polo shirts, with the Prince in the gray style and Kate in navy.

© Julian Parker

It appears to have been taken around the time that the couple recorded a congratulatory message to Team GB from their Norfolk home after the Paris 2024 Olympics in the summer, with the royals appearing alongside a number of stars including David Beckham and Snoop Dogg to congratulate Team GB on their triumphs at the Games.

The Prince did not travel to Paris for the Olympics or Paralympics this year, with William recently sharing he was concerned about catching COVID-19 while Kate was having chemotherapy treatment.

"I didn't want to risk bringing Covid home, so Adam very kindly reminded me that that was still a thing! But we watched the whole thing. We were glued to it every day," he told swimmers Adam Peaty, Tom Dean, Maisie Summer-Newton and Louise Fiddes during a visit to Birtley Community Pool in Tyne and Wear.