Duke and Duchess of Cambridge to support Ben Ainslie in Portmsouth
The royal couple will make an appearance in Portsmouth on 26 July
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge will visit the America’s Cup World Series Portsmouth on 26 July to show their support for Ben Ainslie and his team.
Land Rover BAR will be competing against five other America’s Cup teams on the Solent as they begin their journey to bringing the cup home.
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While in the area, the royal couple will also pay a visit to the event’s official charity, the 1851 Trust, of which the Duchess is Royal Patron.
The Duke and Duchess will start their visit by meeting the skippers, technical staff and crew of the six competing teams from France, New Zealand, Sweden, Japan and the USA, followed by the home team.
They will then go on to tour the team’s new home to see the purpose-built facilities, learn about the team’s investment in developing maritime and design skills through working with local colleges as well as meet staff, their families and some of the team’s apprentices.
In the afternoon, their Royal Highnesses will visit the 1851 Trust’s interactive zone where they will be introduced to young people who have taken their first sailing steps with the Trust.
They will also find out more on the sailing taster project run by the charity in conjunction with the Andrew Simpson Sailing Foundation- up to a 1,000 local young people aged 9-14 are being given the opportunity to try sailing during the five week summer project, operating from Portsmouth Sailing Club.
The Duke and Duchess will also have the opportunity to see the team in action, racing their foiling AC45F catamaran, watching the final two races of the event.
Up to 500,000 people are expected to visit Portsmouth for the four day event, culminating on ‘Super Sunday’.