Prince George and Princess Charlotte cheer on Will and Catherine at King’s Cup

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge may have been the ones competing at the King’s Cup yachting regatta but it was their children Prince George and Princess Charlotte who stole the show at the race on Thursday. The young royals were spotted getting into the spirit of the event and appear in a series of new photographs.

Princess William and Duchess Catherine hosted the inaugural regatta The King’s Cup to raise awareness and funds for eight of Their Royal Highnesses’ patronages. During the event, the Duke and Duchess went head to head as skippers of individual sailing boats as part of an eight boat regatta race.

Six-year-old Prince George was spotted cheering on his parents and looked as adorable as ever in a captain’s hat. George, who is third in the line of succession to the British throne behind Prince Charles and Prince William, was also spotted smiling from ear to ear as he lived it up on a yacht.

Read more: Palace releases Kate’s gorgeous birthday photos of Prince George as he turns 6

The young royal beamed with delight throughout the event and flashed a gap-toothed grin, showing that he’s lost even more of his baby teeth. He was joined on a yacht by grandparents Carole and Michael Middleton and his younger sister Charlotte.

The four-year-old is growing up fast and showed off her cheeky side throughout at the day. At one point, she was photographed poking her tongue out at photographers alongside her 37-year-old mother. William and Catherine’s youngest son Louis didn’t appear to be at the event.

During the race, Prince William was competing on behalf of Child Bereavement UK, while Duchess Catherine was representing the Early Years program that’s delivered by the Royal Foundation. They were joined by an array of other well-known faces including Dan Snow, Bear Grylls, John Bishop, Katie Thistleton and Helen Glover.

Read more: Duchess Catherine admits she’s broody during Northern Ireland royal visit

“Their Royal Highnesses hope that The King’s Cup will become an annual event, bringing greater awareness to the wider benefits of sport, whilst also raising support and funds for the causes that The Duke and Duchess support,” Kensington Palace said in a statement.

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While Bear Grylls ended up winning the King’s Cup, the race wasn’t as successful for Catherine. The mother-of-three finished in last place and was hilariously awarded a giant wooden spoon for her efforts.

“It’s the taking part that counts,” the official Kensington Royal Instagram page joked, alongside side two photographs of an embarrassed Catherine being awarded her spoon.

Delighted royalists couldn’t get enough of the photo, with one person on Instagram commenting: “I’m sure William won’t let Catherine forget this moment for a while.”

Read more: Royal delight as charming unseen photo of George, Charlotte and Louis released

Another comment read: “Worried for Catherine, William will remind her at every moment,” while a third added: “She’s so down to earth and relatable. I love how real she is.”

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Read more: Royal rascals! All the adorable photos of George, Charlotte and Louis at the polo

Are you a fan of Prince George and Princess Charlotte? Have you ever been yachting before?