Prince William and Meghan Markle share an unexpected hobby and it’s therapeutic benefits have been praised by royal family members
While they may not see eye to eye or appear to share much common ground, Prince William and Meghan Markle do share at least one interest and the therapeutic benefits of their hobby have been praised by other family members as well as scientists.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle may still be at odds with Prince William and Kate Middleton, with no end in sight to the ongoing royal feud and reports that Meghan could even be set to publish her own 'huge' family memoir now running rampant, but they were once the 'fab four' and clearly had at least a few shared interests to talk about.
Rewind to a time before Prince William and Prince Harry had very different parenting styles and King Charles' plan to ‘bring his family back together again’ didn't appear to be working, and we can remember the days where the brothers spent all their time together with their mum's ‘really noisy’ birthday tradition and their ‘favourite’ childhood meals that are surprisingly ‘normal’ and easy to recreate for family dinners. Even after both the brothers married, Prince William in 2011 and Prince Harry in 2018, the couples merged seamlessly in the public eye and we can't help but think that William and Meghan's shared love for an unexpected hobby helped start many conversations between the unlikely pair.
That's because Prince William and Meghan Markle both share a love for boxing and have took part in training in the past. While it's not known exactly where or why William got into the sport, Meghan began boxing as part of her exercise regime when she was on the hit show Suits.
In an interview with Vanity Fair, Meghan's old personal trainer, Jorge Blanco, who has worked with stars such as Marvel actor Chris Hemsworth, revealed, "I trained Meghan when she was in Toronto during the shooting of the series Suits.
"We did a little bit of martial arts, a little boxing, and sometimes kickboxing. I never really thought she could end up being a princess! I had a great time training with her."
Royal fans didn't learn about William's boxing history until 2022, when he revealed that he 'had a few skills under his belt' during an appearance at the Olympic Park in Startford. Marking the 10th anniversary of a sports coaching charity, William threw a few punches with some of the attendees at the event and showed off his hidden hobby.
One attendee later told The Mirror, "He told me he had done a bit before. He had a few skills under his belt."
It's not just William and Meghan getting in on the boxing action. Prince Harry has also previously shared how the spot 'saved him' when he was struggling to deal with his mental health.
Speaking on Bryony Gordon's Mad World podcast, he shared, "Everyone was saying boxing is good for you and it's a really good way of letting out aggression. And that really saved me because I was on the verge of punching someone, so being able to punch someone who had pads was certainly easier."
While Meghan turned to boxing for its physical benefits, it's likely that, like Prince Harry, Prince William looked to the sport for its therapeutic ones. Just last month, William met with the charity BEST - Be A Better You, who provide sports training and mentoring for teenagers and young adults to keep them off the streets and out of trouble, and he praised their work and vowed to back their initiative.
It's not just the royals who recognise the benefits of boxing, with a whole host of scientific evidence showing off the brilliant results that can be brought on from the sport. According to a study in the International Journal of Physiology, Nutrition and Physical Education, boxing 'offers a unique and fun approach to the prevention and treatment of various physical and mental health problems.'
The study found that not only can boxing 'help with stress and anger management, boost confidence and self-esteem, elevate mood and serve as a form of natural anti-anxiety,' as well as improving 'focus and sleep quality,' but it can also 'have a positive impact' on 'speech and social interaction skills.'
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