Kate and William try their hand at curling in Stirling

The Prince and Princess of Wales have tried their hand at curling while visiting the National Curling Academy in Stirling.

Kate and William met Team GB and Paralympic GB curling teams ahead of the Winter Paralympic Games in Milano-Cortina in February and March.

The royals took to the ice with some Team GB players to test their skills.

Kate and William then spoke to locals at the sports centre afterwards and told children about their curling experience.

Bruce Mouat, skip of the men’s curling team and one half of the mixed doubles, said: “It was wonderful, really nice that they came to wish us good luck for the next month we are about to embark on, both of them were lovely and willing to curl.”

He continued: “They said they would be watching the games, which means a lot to us.”

Curling traces its roots back to 16th-century Scotland and has since become one of Team GB and Paralympics GB’s most successful winter sports, earning six Olympic medals and two Paralympic medals to date.

The National Curling Academy was opened in August 2017 in the run-up to the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang to provide a dedicated curling facility for British Curling athletes.

It gives the athletes year-round access to high quality ice, which was not previously available in the UK.

Afterwards the couple went to the charity Radical Weavers, which gives those affected by trauma and loss the opportunity to learn traditional Scottish tartan-weaving skills in a safe and welcoming environment.

Kate tried her hand at tartan-weaving using a traditional loom, creating part of what the charity hopes will become a record-breaking 1.86-mile tartan scarf.

The couple ended their trip to Stirling with a visit to The Gothenburg, a community-run pub in the former mining village of Fallon.

They met local people to discuss the importance of community-run facilities.