The Prince of Wales has met with the England football team and insisted “the country is behind you”.
The Prince made a surprise visit to the England team’s headquarters at St George’s Park on Monday before the squad flew out to Qatar on Tuesday morning. Gareth Southgate’s side play their first game next Monday against Iran, followed by a clash against the USA a week on Friday, and then a potentially crunch final group game encounter with Wales on November 29.
Prince William officially became Prince of Wales in September following the death of his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, and the subsequent accession to the throne of his father, who is now King Charles III. The Prince, who is president of the English FA, has not met with the Wales squad before they fly off to Qatar on Tuesday.
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At their training base he spoke to a number of the players and staff, posed for pictures and told the squad: “I’m really here to point out that the rest of the country is behind you. We are all rooting for you, enjoy it.”
The visit has drawn criticism from some Welsh fans, who took to social media to point out the potential awkwardness of the Prince of Wales wishing luck to a direct opponent.
Last week, the Prince of Wales spoke of his support for the England national team. He said: “You learn by playing a number of times and many other things in life that disappointment is part of life and how you handle it is crucial. Handling some of those really disappointing England results in the past, that was hard, I found that really difficult, because again the same euphoria that we had comes crashing down. You feel high and all together, and then normal life just gets on again.”
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