Princess Anne officially started the Doddie Aid bike ride challenge on Thursday (9 February) which sees rugby stars competing in order to raise money for charity.

The Princess Royal handed over the official Doddie Match rugby ball to mark the beginning of the 48 hour challenge, and she will receive it back again to signal the end of the event on Saturday (11 February).

To open the event, Princess Anne wore a green polo neck jumper and tailored black coat which she paired with a blue and yellow tartan scarf, matching the pattern and colours on the team members' official jackets.

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For the challenge, "a team of rugby legends will embark on a gruelling route via rugby clubs across Wales, England and Scotland," explained a post on the official Royal Family instagram page.

The team will have 48 hours to complete their route, with the aiming of finishing, "in time for the Scotland vs Wales Six Nations Championship match on Saturday 11th February, where The Princess Royal will receive the match ball."

It went onto explain that, "the ride takes place during the last week of Doddie Aid 2023, a national fundraising event."

Princess Anne undertook the honour as she is patron of the Scottish rugby team as well as the MND Association, which fundraises and campaigns around motor neurone disease.

A photograph shared as part of the announcement post shows Princess Anne smiling as she hands over hands over the official match ball and kicks off the race.

You can find support and information about motor neurone disease and the MND Associations' work on its website.