Kate Middleton’s Unexpected Party Secret Revealed: The Royal Drinking Game That Brings Out Her Fiercely Competitive Side
For all the formality surrounding the British royal family, life behind palace doors can apparently be far more playful than royal engagements might suggest. Princess Kate, the Princess of Wales, has a surprisingly competitive side—and one royal relative has revealed the drinking game that can bring it out.
Mike Tindall, the former England rugby star and husband of Zara Tindall, shared the unusual insight during an interview connected with Woman & Home. Tindall, who is part of the extended royal family through his marriage to Princess Anne’s daughter, said he had seen Kate play beer pong and described her as exceptionally competitive. However, when the royals play among themselves, the traditional beer is apparently replaced with prosecco, creating what they call “Prosecco pong.”
The revelation offers a distinctly different picture of Kate from the polished figure seen at state occasions, charity visits and major royal ceremonies. Rather than simply participating for fun, Tindall suggested that competition is deeply embedded within the wider family.
That competitive spirit should not necessarily come as a surprise. Sport has long been an important part of the family’s private and public lives. Prince William and Kate have both spoken about their enthusiasm for sport, while Tindall himself built his career as an international rugby player. Tindall has previously appeared alongside William and Kate on his podcast, where the family’s competitive personalities became a recurring theme.
Kate’s enthusiasm for competitive games also fits with anecdotes from her university years and her relationship with William. Before their marriage, the couple attended the University of St Andrews, where their relationship gradually developed from friendship into romance. A separate account of their university life has even described how a game of “Never Have I Ever” helped expose their previously private relationship to fellow students.
Yet the Prosecco pong revelation comes with an important piece of context. Kate has previously indicated that she became much more conscious of alcohol following her cancer diagnosis and treatment. During a 2024 visit to Southwark Brewing Company, she acknowledged that she was drinking less and being more careful about alcohol. Her cancer treatment was subsequently completed, and in January 2025 she announced that her cancer was in remission.
That makes Tindall’s wording particularly notable. He said Kate “still” plays Prosecco pong with the family, but his comments do not establish how frequently she drinks or how much alcohol she consumes. The anecdote therefore appears to be more about her competitive personality and family gatherings than about her drinking habits.
There is also something revealing about the choice of prosecco itself. Beer pong is traditionally associated with casual student parties, while replacing beer with sparkling wine gives the royal version a distinctly more glamorous twist.
Ultimately, the story provides a rare glimpse of Kate away from the cameras: competitive, playful and apparently willing to join in with a decidedly unconventional family tradition. And if Tindall’s description is accurate, anyone sitting across the table from the Princess of Wales may have more to worry about than simply keeping their drink upright.
