William admits to Kate Middleton’s family’s competitive spirit: ‘ambitious blood’

James Middleton has disclosed that Prince William often concocted “excuses” to skip game nights with the Middleton family, as he found them to be “too competitive.”

Kate’s brother, 37, who lives in Berkshire, was about 13 when his sister began dating the future King. William frequently joined the family for dinners, but it appears no Middleton gathering was complete without a card game.

James mentioned that their family enjoys playing Racing Demon, a competitive version of Patience or Solitaire. However, whenever the cards appeared on the table, William reportedly seemed eager to find other tasks to occupy his time.

He shared this insight during an appearance on the Walking The Dog podcast, hosted by author and animal lover Emily Dean.

She said: ‘The Middletons are quite competitive and they love a game, don’t they?

‘And then you made poor William play, and he found it too competitive and actually used to make excuses.’ 

James responded: ‘It was after family dinner, we would be sat there and the cards would come out, and [he would] perhaps see if Ella needed a walk or make an excuse to get down from the table.

It’s no secret that ambitious blood runs through the Middleton veins, as Pippa and Kate enjoyed beating their opponents at school sporting events.

They were both on the hockey team as teenagers, though the Princess of Wales was team captain during her years at Marlborough College in Wiltshire. 

Royal fans caught a glimpse of the family playing cards during Kate’s emotional video, where she announced the end of her chemotherapy after a tough year of battling cancer.