Sales of field hockey equipment soared after the Duchess of Cambridge was pictured playing the sport last week, a British retailer said Thursday.
Catherine, who was reunited Wednesday with her husband, Prince William, following his deployment to the Falkland Islands, showed off her field hockey skills March 15 as she scored a goal in front of Great Britain's women's team at the Olympic Park in London.
The former Kate Middleton, who was the captain of the field hockey team at her high school, told onlookers she was "nervous" as she was handed a stick during last week's visit but managed to hold it together to score a goal in front of the cameras.
Since then, sales of hockey sticks have increased by a massive 238 percent, shin guards are up 114 percent and sales of hockey bags are up 89 percent, according to British online retailer Littlewoods.com.
"Hockey equipment from our sports section has always sold well at Littlewoods. This has, of course, always been more modest compared to more mainstream sports," Gary Kibble, the firm's brand director, said. "However, we have noticed a huge spike in sales over the past few days since Kate Middleton was pictured visiting the women's hockey team."
