An unexpected sport unites Meghan Markle, prince william Y prince harry together – boxing. While initial reports suggested that Meghan got along with her brother-in-law, the pair have rarely been known to speak to each other since Harry left with his wife for the US, leaving their royal lives behind. However, a shared love of boxing still binds the pair together as they have both trained in the past, albeit for very different reasons. Meanwhile, the widely documented therapeutic benefits of the sport have had a strong effect on Prince Harry, who has even said that he “saved” him.
Meghan Markle got involved in the sport when she was an actress, working on Suits. Jorge Blanco, the personal trainer of rapper Drake and actor Chris Hemsworth, told Vanity Fair how he trained Meghan while filming the show in Toronto.
He said they did “a little bit of martial arts, a little bit of boxing, and sometimes kickboxing.”
The trainer added, “I really never thought that I could end up being a princess! I had a great time training with her because she is super nice and speaks Spanish, with an Argentine accent”.
It would seem that boxing really stuck with the Duchess, as she reportedly continues to include it in her training. Her personal trainer, Craig McNamee, said of Meghan’s exercise routine: “Meghan Markle’s fitness definitely takes precedence; she is very focused on her health. When she gets to the gym, there are no real complaints.”
Harry has also talked about the couple loving to box. Last August, the Prince revealed the key mental health benefits the sport had brought him.
He said on Bryony Gordon’s Mad World podcast: “Everyone said boxing is good for you and it’s a really good way to let out aggression. And that really saved me because I was about to hit someone, so being able to hit someone who had pads was definitely easier.”
Last week, Prince William made a commitment to the sport so beloved by the Sussexes, donning the gloves at Stratford’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park to celebrate the 10th anniversary of a sports coaching charity. The Prince of Wales seemed to love the experience as he was guided by two of the youngsters working with Coach Core.
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One of those involved mentioned how the Prince has previous experience in the sport, saying: “He told me he had done a bit before. He had some skills under his belt.”
As an exercise, boxing is considered to be a very effective method, with Expertboxing stating that it is a “fun and challenging exercise that gets you fitter faster than anything else.” The health site Healthline explained that “cardio boxing can be a great addition to your weight loss plan” and slimmers can burn an estimated average of 350 to 450 calories per hour.
However, what is particularly important to boxing and other martial arts is the mental health benefits it provides, a topic that is very important to the Princes and Meghan.
Meghan has spoken out about her troubled state of mind during her time with the royal family, even revealing in an interview with Oprah that she had considered ending her life.
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Prince Harry has also been open about his own personal struggles. Speaking on a livestream hosted by BetterUp, the mental health company he works for, he admitted there was barely any “fuel or steam in the engine” and that he was “burning the candle at both ends.” He added that he meditates every day.
Meanwhile, her brother has been involved in a number of active efforts to improve mental health service delivery, including calling for greater awareness of male suicide. Speaking to the suicide support charity James’ Place to the parents of a young man who took his own life, William said: “We’re not really tackling the problem as quickly as we need to.”
Boxing is said to be an effective way to improve mental health, in part due to the amount of focus it requires, distracting you from the day’s problems, but also due to the release of endorphins and the catharsis of the sport.
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