The Prince of Wales may have cheered on the Lionesses from afar, but has faced criticism from some quarters at home over his reluctance to get on a plane to support the England team in person.
William was absent from Stadium Australia on Sunday despite being president of the Football Association, and is understood to have made the decision not to go because of the long flight involved for such a short period of time.
Environmentalists may applaud such a decision, and no doubt would have questioned the prince’s green credentials had he hopped on a long-haul flight. He is the founder of the Earthshot prize.
But others have been vocal in their criticism that no senior royals or the prime minister, Rishi Sunak, were there for England’s first World Cup final since 1966, believing there should be top-level representation at such a national moment.
Queen Letizia of Spain and her 16-year-old daughter intended to be present to express their country’s commitment to national football, though King Felipe was understood to be busy with other duties.
The former England goalkeeper Pauline Cope expressed her disappointment at the absence of royals, the prime minister or even the England’s men’s team manager, Gareth Southgate, saying it was a ”shame”.
“I will not have any bad words against the royal family. However, this should have been pencilled in his [William’s] diary from day dot, after we won the Euros and qualified for the World Cup,” Cope, who has 60 England caps and played in the 1995 World Cup, told Times Radio.
“Let’s be honest, if it was the men’s World Cup, they would all be here.”
Mandu Reid, the leader of the Women’s Equality party, told MailOnline it was “utterly ridiculous that England wasn’t and still isn’t prepared to celebrate the women’s World Cup final”.
The broadcaster Jon Sopel said it was “inconceivable” that William and Sunak would not travel if it was the men’s team playing. He tweeted: “Happy to accept might be impossible for the PM, given other commitments. But Prince William? Why?”
The TV presenter Piers Morgan tweeted: “With respect, YRH (Your Royal Highness), you should have got on a plane. Ridiculous that the Queen of Spain is attending the World Cup final to support her nation’s team, and you won’t be there despite being president of the FA.”
King Charles urged the Lionesses to “roar to victory”, with him and the Queen believed to be watching from Birkhall in Aberdeenshire, where they are on a summer break.
William apologised to the Lionesses for not being there in a video message posted on social media on Saturday. Joined by his daughter, Princess Charlotte, who was clutching a football, he said: “Lionesses, we want to send you a huge good luck for tomorrow, we’re sorry we can’t be there in person but we’re so proud of everything you’ve achieved and the millions you’ve inspired here and around the world.
“So go out there tomorrow and really enjoy yourselves.”
Good luck for tomorrow @Lionesses 💪🏴 pic.twitter.com/a4WJ7ycVTK
— The Prince and Princess of Wales (@KensingtonRoyal) August 19, 2023
In October, he had not planned to attend the men’s World Cup, controversially held in Qatar, due to a busy winter schedule. But before Southgate’s squad was knocked out in the quarter-final it was understood William’s office was looking at making possible arrangements for him to attend if the men reached the final. William is now on his annual summer break.
He saw the Lionesses win the European Championship last year, presenting them with their medals at Wembley, and visited them in person in June at the St George’s Park training base to wish them good luck before they left for Australia.
Charles is king of Australia but as he is yet to travel there since his accession, questions have been raised about the diplomatic implications of William visiting the country before his father has had a chance as the new monarch. The question has also been raised over whether Australia would have been responsible for footing the bill for William’s security costs during his stay.
The late queen attended the 1966 World Cup final at Wembley and presented the England captain Bobby Moore with the trophy.
