Aiming high: Kate is determined to improve her skills with a shotgunThe Duchess of Cambridge has been perfecting her shooting skills in preparation for the traditional Boxing Day pheasant shoot at Sandringham.
The 29-year-old was given private lessons by Prince Charles’s ghillie, or hunt attendant, at Birkhall on the Balmoral Estate last weekend.
Kate will spend her first Christmas Day with the Royal Family this year, and a source said: ‘She wants to make the best impression and is taking the Boxing Day shoot very seriously.
‘She has joined the shoot in previous years, but she is not the best shot and she’s determined to get better. She spent the weekend having lessons and she has become a lot more confident with a shotgun.’
Another source said: ‘William is an excellent shot. It is a passion of his and Kate knows that to fit in, not just with William, but with the rest of the Royal Family, she too must embrace the sport.
Sporting: Prince William at a shoot in 2008, Kate is determined to be the best shot this year
‘She was at Balmoral with William and her family at the weekend and they had plenty of time for shooting. It is still the hind season and William managed to do some deer stalking. It’s much harder, though, and Kate stuck to shooting pheasants.’
Kate’s parents Carole and Michael and her sister Pippa were also part of the shooting party.
Prince Charles and Camilla were in Africa, but gave the run of their Scottish home to William – who killed his first stag when he was 14.
‘William wants to make taking his in-laws to Birkhall a tradition,’ adds a friend.
source:dailymail
