Breaking News: Princess Anne’s companion at rugby match revealed…. See More

The Princess Royal enjoyed a day out at the rugby on Saturday to cheer on her beloved Scotland.

But on this occasion, Princess Anne was not joined by her husband, Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence, with whom she shares a love of the sport.

Seated next to her right was the President of the Scottish Rugby Union, Colin Rigby.

The former rugby union player from Edinburgh took up the role of President in 2022 and is regularly seen accompanying the Princess Royal at rugby matches.

Anne sported a navy blue coat and a blue and green tartan scarf for the match, as well as a special brooch.

The Princess often reserves the silver accessory, featuring four amethysts, to Scotland’s games.

And there was triumph for the squad as they won 59 – 21 over Portugal.

The Princess Royal has been patron of the Scottish Rugby Union since 1986 and rarely misses a match.

She revealed how the patronage came about when she appeared on her son-in-law Mike Tindall’s podcast, The Good, The Bad & The Rugby, in 2023.

It was an accident, they asked me to go and open the East Stand [at Murrayfield Stadium] when it was built,” she said. “I had about two weeks’ notice because they had been let down, I can’t remember who by, and as it happened, the horse was lame and I wasn’t competing at the weekend, so I went. About a month later, they asked me if I wanted to become patron.”

Talking about her passion for the sport, Anne said: “Everything that rugby gives, I’m talking about exercise and team sports in general, but I do think rugby offers a variety of talents in one team. And you have to look out for each other and that’s a different sort of responsibility within a team structure. They’re not all the same, you can have different skills.”