Duchess visit to help engagement in sport

That is the view of Jo Stocks, chief executive of the 1851 Trust, which will play host to Kate on May 20.

On her third visit to Portsmouth Kate will see the 1851 Trust and launch two of its flagship projects.

And about 50 young children from schools in the city will get the chance to meet the royal.

That, along with Kate being the patron, will help women and girls get involved in sport and Stem subjects – science, technology, engineering and maths, Jo said.

Jo told The News: ‘I think at the trust we’re extremely fortunate to have the duchess as one of our patrons as well as Sir Ben Ainslie.

‘It adds huge weight to what we’re trying to do.

‘She’s talked about her own experience of sailing as a young person so it’s pretty encouraging for young women and girls to get involved.

‘The two things we do are sailing and getting young people into Stem subjects.’

She added it can be difficult to get women and girls involved in such area.

‘We’re hoping she will help that,’ Jo added.

Land Rover BAR, Sir Ben’s America’s Cup team, supports the trust.

It was established to inspire and engage young people into the sailing and marine industries.

As reported, Kate’s visit comes after she came to Portsmouth in July last year for the America’s Cup World Series event.

And she previously visited in February last year.

Her latest visit will see her open the new Tech Deck Education Centre, which will allow people to see the BAR team’s construction work.