The Princess of Wales has congratulated the Great Britain sailing team who will compete for the America’s Cup for the first time since 1964.

Four-time Olympic sailing champion Ben Ainslie skippered Ineos Britannia to 7-4 victory over Italy in a qualifying event in Barcelona, and will take on New Zealand for the trophy on October 12.

Kate wrote on X, formerly Twitter: “Congratulations to @AinslieBen and the whole INEOS Britannia Team on qualifying for the 37th America’s Cup! A fantastic display of teamwork, skill and determination. Best of luck for the final challenge! C.”

Sir Ben said he was “so proud of the team” after Ineos Britannia clinched the official challenger spot on Friday. He also hailed the Italian Luna Rossa team as “amazing competitors”.

Ineos Britannia will face New Zealand in the final in a best-of-seven series.

It was success at the third attempt for Ainslie’s crew and ends a wait stretching back to 1964.

Then, a team led by Peter Scott overcame a second British yacht, Kurrewa, to attain challenger status, but were routed 4-0 by America’s dominant New York Yacht Club.

Britain celebrated its first and only America’s Cup win in the inaugural regatta in 1851, when the Royal Yacht Squadron won a fleet race around the Isle of Wight.

While Britain provided the challenger for 16 of 18 races between 1870 and 1964, the crews were unsuccessful on each occasion.

The New York Yacht Club reeled off a series of 25 straight wins until the Americans were finally deposed by Australia in Fremantle in 1987.