The Royals are in town? It must be time for a game of ping pong! It’s a good job that competitive Kate and William have been practising…

It was a return to the table tennis table  for the the Prince and Princess of Wales yesterday.

The competitive duo took each other on in a game of ping pong as they met migrants in Cardiff on the 75th anniversary of the arrival of HMT Empire Windrush to the UK.

Fortunately for them, Kate admits they can practise at home (until the dog catches the ball).

For this was not the first time they’d been asked to show off their impromptu ping pong skills – a game which features on royal visits across Britain and Europe with mysterious regularity, as these pictures show…

Queen Camilla

Queen Camilla and Brigitte Macron were recently filmed trying out a game of table tennis during a visit to a gymnasium in Paris. Brigitte seemingly hit the ball with skill – while Camilla knocked the ping pong into the net.

But it appears as though Paris wasn’t Camilla’s first ping-pong rodeo, for the Queen appears to be a master at the table sport.

During a visit to the Royal Air Force Halton in 2019, Camilla couldn’t resist a game.

On another occasion, Camilla teamed up with Lucy Turnbull, the wife of the Australian prime minister, for a doubles game while visiting the Commonwealth Games athletes’ village Gold Coast in April 2018.

King Charles

King Charles has more than proved his fitness at 74 years young with his eagerness to put his sporting skills to the test.

Charles tried his hand at badminton and table tennis as he officially opened a new sports centre at Dumfries House Estate in Cumnock, East Ayrshire, back in 2015.

The former Prince of Wales was on the ball when playing ping-pong at the Melmerby Village Hall in Cumbria as part of his The Pub is the Hub initiative in February 2004.

And during a visit to Australia in 2018, Charles took the chance to show off his royal flair with a round of games.

Catherine, Princess of Wales

Having firmly established herself as competitive Kate, the Princess of Wales is never one to back down from a challenge, and that includes table tennis.

They get to play each other at home and were recently teased when they appeared on the podcast The Good, The Bad and The Rugby podcast with Zara’s husband Mike Tindall and former England player James Haskell.

According to Haskell, their games are so competitive, they go on for ‘hours and hours’. 

Kate received notable praise for her skills while visiting Bacon’s College in London in 2012.

She was described as ‘unbelievably talented’ by a coach – despite playing in heels – while trying her hand at the sport.

Even while wearing a dress and heels, the then Duchess of Cambridge challenged William to a game of ping-pong again at the Donald Dewar Leisure Centre when visiting Glasgow in 2013.

Kate took her best swing during a visit to the residential facility Savannah House in County Meath, and as she joined in the game with young people, she gave insight into the couple’s life at home with their children.

‘We try to do this at home but our dog keeps catching the ping pong balls,’ the Princess said.

The mother-of-three also picked up a paddle for a quick round of table tennis at The Way Youth Zone in Wolverhampton in May 2021.

Prince William 

Much like Kate, Prince William can rarely turn down an offer to put his athleticism to the test.

The father-of-three, 41, showed he has a natural way with children as he visited a refugee centre and even challenged them to a game of table tennis in Poland in March.

On another occasion, William displayed real ping pong flair at the Greenhouse Sports Centre in April 2018.

William and Kate battled against one another in a thrilling match of ping pong during a visit to the Dracaena Centre in Falmouth, Cornwall, earlier this year in February.

The Prince and Princess of Wales went head-to-head once again in a table tennis match during a day of engagements in Wolverhampton.

Prince Harry

Prince Harry doesn’t normally need his arm twisting before joining in.

But he had to be persuaded to try his hand at table tennis on the fourth day of the recent Invictus Games in The Hague.

 One of the competitors attempted to hand him a bat, but the Prince shook his head and repeatedly said no. 

As a small crowd urged him to try his luck he reluctantly agreed and joined a wheelchair-bound athlete for a quick knock up.

Previously, he had tried a  little table tennis with children at the youth development centre TYLA (Turn Your Life Around) in New Zealand, May 2015.

King Philippe of Belgium

Queen Mathilde of Belgium

Much like her husband, Queen Mathilde of Belgium took to the tennis table at a celebration like a true pro at the Royal Castle in Laken-Laeken, in Brussels, in September 2012.

Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh

Sophie, the Duchess of Edinburgh, gave it her best shot as she tried ping-pong at the 14th BGC Annual Charity Day in commemoration of the company’s employees who died in the 9/11 attack in 2001.

Though the mother-of-two had a wobbly start, she soon got the hang.

Prince Daniel, Duke of Västergötland

The British royals aren’t the only ones who find their ping pong skills under scrutiny.

Prince Daniel of Sweden showed off some serious ping pong skills during a visit to Stiga Sports in Eskilstuna, Sweden, in January 2018.

However, the Duke of Västergötland might have had a tad unfair advantage given that before becoming a member of the Swedish Royal Family he was a personal trainer and owner of three gyms in central Stockholm.

Queen Letizia and King Felipe VI of Spain

King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia of Spain would have given the Wales’ a run for their money after they were pictured poised and ready for a game of table tennis at the National Paraplegics Hospital 40th Anniversary in February 2015 in Toledo, Spain.

Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark

Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark sent royal fans wild in August after a video was shared online of him playing table tennis.

The royal joined 21 veterans with mental and physical injuries who will be taking part in the Invictus Games and with many fans left amazed by Frederik’s ability.

Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York 

Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York, took her best swing in a brief impromptu table tennis at Rockport School in Northern Ireland during her royal visit in 1988.