England women's captain Leah Williamson has revealed that Prince William personally told her of his pride of the Lionesses after seeing them win Euro 2022.
Centre-back Williamson played all 120 minutes as Sarina Wiegman's team defeated fierce rivals Germany in the final at Wembley. Goals from Ella Toone and Chloe Kelly were enough to secure the trophy, the Lionesses' first major tournament win in their history.
Williamson became the first England captain since Bobby Moore to lift a trophy wearing the three lions. Before being handed the European Championship trophy, she was greeted by the Duke of Cambridge, who attended the game in his role as President of the Football Association.
He was part of the line-up of officials who congratulated the victorious England players as they collected their medals. The prince shook hands with most of the squad, but gave Williamson a celebratory hug.
And England's skipper has now revealed that he also sent her a message as they shared their touching moment. He was seen to be visibly moved by the moment, before giving Williamson a round of applause as he lifted the trophy.
"I think I went to shake his hand and he said, 'Leah, bring it in' and I said, 'Thank you sir'. He was like, 'I’m very proud of you all'.
"The legacy of this tournament is a change in society. We’ve brought people together and got people to this game," Williamson said.
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"The legacy of this team is winning and this is the start of the journey. I just can’t stop crying. We talked and we talked and we’ve finally done it. It’s the proudest moment of my life until the day I have kids I suppose.
"I’m going to lap it up. I want to relive it over and over and I’ll be reliving it for a long time. We said we wanted to make our legacy about winning and that's what we did. The legacy of the tournament was already made before that final game.
"What we've done for women and young girls who can look up and aspire to be us. I think England have hosted an incredible tournament and we've changed the game in this country - and hopefully across Europe and across the world."
The Prince also tweeted out his congratulations to the team, having congratulated on their way to the stage. He hailed their "incredible win" as he insisted that they had inspired the whole nation.
"Sensational. An incredible win and the whole nation couldn’t be prouder of you all. Wonderful to see history in the making tonight at Wembley, congratulations! What a night! Just brilliant. You’ve inspired a nation too," he wrote.
After celebrating at Wembley following the win, England held a trophy parade at Trafalgar Square on Monday. The entire squad and Wiegman were on hand to showcase their freshly won award to thousands of adoring fans.
