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The Prince of Wales has shared the simple parenting motto he and the Princess of Wales use to keep their young children happy at an engagement.
William, 42, made the revelation while attending a game hosted by the NFL Foundation UK in London on Tuesday, where he was gifted a football for Prince George, 11, Princess Charlotte, nine, and Prince Louis, six.
Expressing his appreciation for the gift at the Kennington Park hockey pitch, he said: “Oh, that’s very kind. Never go home empty handed! That’s a crucial motto of being a parent.
“They will love that. We’re going to do some practice together, let’s see how many windows I can smash.”
The heir to the throne’s attendance at the event shed a light on the foundation’s work to open up the “fast paced, inclusive and easy to access” sport to deprived young people aged 12 to 20.
Noting the number of young girls taking part, he praised: “It’s so good to see all the women getting more involved in it.”
William even participated in a non-contact version of the game, where he took on the role of quarterback and showed off his impressive arm strength.
After throwing the ball to his teammate, the other players, who were from Birmingham, Manchester and London, were full of praise, shouting “what a throw”.
William admitted to Phoebe Schecter that he had tried his hand at most sports over the years but “not very well”.
But the GB women’s flag football captain – the non-contact version of American football – disagreed with his assessment of his ability.
“Honestly, Prince William was great – his arm strength is unbelievable, when he let that first ball rip I couldn’t believe it,” she said.
“Honestly I think if we had better receivers around we would have had multiple touchdowns happening, but his ability to take control of the offence, going into a completely unfamiliar territory really, calling the cadence, receiving the ball, doing a hand-off at one point, making those tactical decisions – it was phenomenal.”
The NFL Foundation UK is currently celebrating its third anniversary as increasing numbers of people in the UK take up American football.
The NFL’s official flag programme is being embraced by 650 British schools, involving 60,000 boys and girls in the game.
