Prince William, patron of England Football, is too lazy to attend any World Cup games

Of all the things, people, continents and issues Prince William could claim as “his,” I would argue that English football really IS his. Football is one of his few passions and schedule priorities, and he’s served as president and now patron of England Football for many years. Of course, that doesn’t mean anything when it comes to the women’s national team. But it’s bizarre that it means nothing this year, as the men’s national team has fought their way into the World Cup final four. Tomorrow, England plays Argentina in the World Cup semifinal in Atlanta. England Football’s patron has not done anything but tweet about their run, and it doesn’t appear like he plans to fly in for the semifinal.

Now, when William appeared on the New Heights podcast with Jason and Travis Kelce, they even asked him if he planned to come over if England kept winning matches. William said that if England reaches the final, then he would probably come over. But here’s the thing – other European royal houses have been going all out to support their national teams. The King of Belgium went to LA to support his team in the quarterfinals. Norway’s Prince Haakon attended the Norway-England quarterfinal, then the Norwegian royal family organized a huge welcome-home for their team yesterday. The Netherlands’ King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima came to the US to lend their in-person support. Multiple other royals have celebrated their teams in person.

Well, people are starting to notice that William is too lazy to support England in person. The real change seemed to be when he didn’t bother showing up to England’s quarterfinal on Saturday, and I think it’s safe to say that he’s not going to fly to Atlanta for the semifinal tomorrow. Even if one could argue that William was busy over the weekend (Wimbledon, a polo match for charity on Friday), he doesn’t have anything on his schedule this week. That’s how it always is – the Wimbledon finals mark the beginning of the Wales family’s summer vacation. Much like the 2023 Women’s World Cup final, William’s priority is being lazy and enjoying his summer vacation.

Two more things – you know how I argued that William really can claim football as “his,” right? Isn’t it funny that Prince Harry has been talking about football and the World Cup in recent interviews? Isn’t it funny that Harry will appear on FIFA After Hours with James Corden? Harry is encroaching on William’s turf and William is too lazy to put up a fight about it.

PS… I’m not going to cover this separately but it’s wild that England’s great white hope Harry Kane recently confessed to golfing with Donald Trump.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.

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108 Responses to “Prince William, patron of England Football, is too lazy to attend any World Cup games”

  1. Normades says:

    I can’t even believe he didn’t go to UK Norway. Such an important match between 2 teams that have been doing great. Plus it would have been such easy and great PR; Hanging out with Sir Beckhams and singing Hey Jude (Bellingham). C’mon! Can you imagine being so privileged that you can’t even do something that most people WOULD LOVE to!

    • Lucy says:

      Yes! It’s truly baffling. And he would be with “peers” because of the Norwegian Royals, who I’m sure he’s related to somehow (cough Queen Victoria cough).

      Maybe he’s been told not to because he was such a poor sport at the game they lost to Italy. Maybe there’s too big a chance of him being an a hole if they lose. Also, I wanted Mexico to win and definitely wanted Norway to win, but I do want Argentina to lose because of the ridiculous refereeing they’re receiving. It’s a conundrum.

      • Ana Maria says:

        my feelings exactly!

      • Bqm says:

        He’s more closely related to the Norwegians than many other families. Through Edward VII instead of just Victoria (his mother). King harald is Elizabeth’s second cousin. Norway’s first king, Haakon, was George V’s brother in law. In fact, his birth name was Charles of Denmark and he was called that (or Carl) within the family. It’s thought that’s where the name for King Charles was from as Haakon was his godfather.

        Edward VII—George V—George vi—Elizabeth—Charles—William
        Edward VII—Maud m Haakon—Olav—Harald—Haakon

        They’re also descended from Christian IX of Denmark
        Christian IX—Alexandra— George V—George vi—Elizabeth—Charles—William
        Christian IX—Frederick VIII—Charles/Haakon— Olav—Harald—Haakon

      • Irisrose says:

        BQM aren’t the Norwegians and Swedes pretty high up in the UK line of succession? Top 100 for one, top 200 for the other?

      • Lauren says:

        @Irisrose the Norwegians are in the first hundred, I think the Swedish are closer than the Spanish.

    • GTWiecz says:

      Please don’t urge him to come! I don’t want to see his mad mug on TV!

    • Anne Keane says:

      England v Norway please. There is no U.K. soccer team. It’s pretty poor. The Spanish king was a regular attender of Rafa Nadal’s Grand Slam finals. What does William think he’s there for if not for this sort of stuff?

    • Eliza says:

      He’s afraid of being booed.

  2. Tessa says:

    After those stressful sports events it is time for scooter vacation

    • BeanieBean says:

      Well, he did bake in the sun while wearing a suit at Wimbledon. Dude needs to replenish his electrolytes.

  3. justguessing says:

    I really hope Harry goes to the game tomorrow. He seems to go to many sporting events.

  4. bisynaptic says:

    William isn’t a football fan, per se. He’s a fan of his team (can’t remember the name)—that’s it.

  5. Normades says:

    Also supporting England and diversity. Geesh. So easy, exciting and fun is too hard for him

  6. Tessa says:

    I hope harry and meghan both attend

  7. Hypocrisy says:

    My understanding is the highest paid Royal in Europe is the BRF and the fact that Willy and the others just don’t show at events like the World Cup is truly shocking especially when other nations royal families are showing up and winning hearts in a fun way celebrating with the fans.. it would be funny if Prince Harry was in Atlanta for the game, not expecting it but you never know it could happen.

  8. Amy Bee says:

    I think he should be in Atlanta tomorrow. He’s probably hoping England loses to Argentina so that he doesn’t have to go to the final.

    • Smart&Messy says:

      Before the Kelce interview, he used to say he would attend if they reached the semi-finals. By the time they did the interview England was still in the race so of course the bar had to be lowered.

      • Where'sMyTiara says:

        Even when the bar is in hell, William will trip over it and faceplant for all the world to see.

        And when he does bother to show up, he will never fail to make an ass of himself publicly.

        I figure it’s better for the planet and the environment if he doesn’t get on planes and go places. I mean, it’s not like the man is capable of bringing value to the world when he deigns to leave his diamond encrusted hovel in the woods, so why waste the jet fuel?

        William should keep doing what he’s doing: hiding from scrutiny, and from duty, and just leave improving the world to Harry, who surpasses him in capability, empathy, and charisma.

        William can stay being the troll under London Bridge.

      • Jay says:

        It’s so weird – I believe at first it was “if England make it to the quarterfinals” he’ll consider supporting the team he is patron of, before it was updated to semifinals. But why give such conditions at all? It’s so strangely specific, and really makes him sound like a wet blanket and a poor sport to boot. “I’ll only go if I think the team will succeed” like surely such an avid football fan would be excited to celebrate his team qualifying at all?

        At any rate, he could have said that he was following the matches closely, would be excited to attend a game in person but couldn’t possibly be definitive due to his busy (?) work schedule and security protocols. There was no need to be more specific!

        It’s another William own-goal.

      • ArtHistorian says:

        Will is a notorious sore looser. When England lost to Italy in the Euros he couldn’t even congratulate the Italian PM who was in the box as well. He, Kate and George just left with a frown. They have zero manners.

    • GTWiecz says:

      I prefer to not see this guy here!

  9. Normades says:

    Also saying if England makes the finals he’d go is such a cop out. They were never even predicted as a final 4. England has had a great run and he easily could have been a part of it, but no, he only fan boys “his team”. He’s not soccer fan, and football is not “his thing”.

    • Harla says:

      You seem a bit knowledgeable about football, can I ask a question? In the Norway v England match it appeared to me that Kane whined a lot about various things, did I perceive that correctly or was I way off base. I will admit that there’s something about Kane that I took an instant dislike to, so I might be projecting.

      • Becks1 says:

        He whined a lot lol. Part of that is because he’s the captain, so his role involves being the main player to talk to the ref (other players do, but the captains are almost always involved too). But he just whined a lot overall. We’re Tottenham fans and used to watch him play a lot and I don’t remember that from him, so maybe it was just a stress thing that night.

      • Hypocrisy says:

        I did catch a bit of that game and I’m not a ⚽️ fan but I agree Kane is a very off putting man, he was hard to watch without rolling my eyes.., I was absolutely charmed by the 🇳🇴 team and fans and very disappointed that they lost.

      • Normades says:

        Kane is definitely not winning any fans like Bellingham, Haaland or even MBappe. To a footballer’s post career that actually matters a lot.

  10. Ana Maria says:

    Huevo being Jinx Supreme, I was counting on him to be present for the England-Mexico match…

  11. Eurydice says:

    The figurehead can’t even figurehead properly.

  12. Toni says:

    The King & Family of Netherlands not only cheered on the Netherlands, they even went between cities to watch/celebrate with Curaçao, dancing in the sheds with the boys.
    I will laugh my a*se off if Harry turns up & is next to Sir Becks because a) there’ll be a big tantrum from Mr “football is mine” and b) derangers will implode because seeing Becks and Harry together

    • Harla says:

      Norway’s Princess Ingrid Alexandra and her brother watched the match between Norway and England in person too. It was so great to see them both there!

      • Becks1 says:

        They were at one other game as well, maybe more. I think they went to Round of 32 and Round of 16 games?

    • Bqm says:

      And when the Dutch royals cheer they CHEER. No mere polite clapping. But they don’t look like they’re going to stroke out like William.

    • Ms Darcy says:

      And W-A and Maxima came to group stage rounds! That’s pretty unusual, usually the big royals wait for the elimination rounds. And I loved how they went to both the Netherlands and Curacao games and celebrated with them. The joy for Curacao in the locker room – who tied the game, didn’t win, but just because they scored their first and only world cup game – was infectious, and my love for the Dutch royals grew like the Grinch’s heart.

  13. Jay says:

    It seems like it going to the quarterfinals would be such an easy win for him- there’s no way it hasn’t been suggested.

    My theory? William is worried that Harry might possibly be there, so he won’t go.

    • Normades says:

      I agree he was probably worried about “possibly” being in the same stadium as his brother

      • GTWiecz says:

        And Harry will be cheered and William booed. That’s what Bulliam is afraid of. The boos.

  14. Jais says:

    I’m baffled that he wouldn’t go to this game. Why not? Any chance Harry will show up? Are the Sussexes still in the uk? I have no idea. Anyways, go Jude❤️. Kane can suck it .

    • Normades says:

      Exactly Kane sucks. Jude is the real star

    • s808 says:

      Jude has put that team on his back the last 2 matches, if they lose to Argentina, he can leave with his head held high.

      • Jais says:

        He really has. I don’t trust the BM not to do another about face on him. But I think they will stay on his side for a while longer even if they lose to Argentina. The viral vids of fans singing hey Jude has assured that.

      • Cee says:

        Bellingham is a rock star. We love him over here. Kane loves to whine (like most footballers) and he is a bit of a jinx… sorry.

  15. Miranda says:

    Why do any of these organizations even bother keeping William or Kate as patrons? Can they dump them? Because I don’t see how there’s anything in it for them when the Waleses rarely deign to show up for anything, and when they do, it’s usually just a half-assed attention grab in which they center themselves rather than whatever they’re meant to be promoting.

    Also, someone PLEASE tell me that Harry Kane is getting the backlash he deserves back home for fraternizing with the senile fascist sex pest,

    • Nanea says:

      I had hoped for Bavaria Munich, Kane’s current team, to make some sort of off-handed remark but… crickets.

      Too bad Harry’s appearance on Joe Marler’s podcast was taped before this came out.

      As to president, patron, or demoting the Incandescent Scooter to ex — I don’t get why any British institution would even need or want a royal do-nothing figurehead in this day and age.

      • Miranda says:

        God, so disappointing. Kane hanging out with Trump is f–king WILD to me. Trump’s approval ratings are so low right now and his dementia has made him so volatile (even by the standards we’ve become accustomed to after a decade of dealing with his bullshit) that members OF HIS OWN PARTY are trying to distance themselves. Many American athletes have turned down the customary post-championship/Olympics White House invites. Others, like the Knicks, seem to be dreading that they might be forced to make that trip. Why would an English footballer voluntarily spend leisure time with him?!

    • ArtHistorian says:

      When orgs wanted to dump Prince Andrew as a patron when his association with Epstein became public, they were put under a LOT of pressure from the Palace – they were only able to get away with dumping him because of Andrew’s now infamous interview. So while it may be possible that some orgs aren’t pleased with their royal patrons, it is unlikely they will do anything about it because the Palace can make things very difficult for them. The woman spoke about being the subject of racism from Camilla Lady In Waiting was put through the wringer and her charity was put under official investigation.

      • GTWiecz says:

        My gosh, the British royal family is a mafia. A fascist institution. No wonder they love Trump.

    • Me at home says:

      Pretty sure William was England (or all UK?) football president for a while, but he did almost nothing as president. So a few years ago they “kicked him upstairs” to patron. Someone correct me if I’m wrong.

    • Lauren says:

      When Charles became king he replaced his mom as royal patron of the Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals social media exploded with criticism. In responding to the comments the RSPCA said they weren’t given a choice and couldn’t refuse despite the negative impact on their reputation given everyone knows Charles lobbied against the fox hunting ban.

  16. Digital Unicorn says:

    Hmm, interesting turn around from a month ago where it was all ‘he’s going to the WC but it won’t be work’. Sounds like someone was told NOT to go hence all the craziness over the Sussex’s being in the UK – my moneys on the Wails were made to be visible during the Sussex trip to distract from the Sussex family visit to Chuck and Cams (its clear to me that the Wails did NOT know in advance about that).

    Also if England make it to the final you can all bet your last dollar that he will be there on ‘official’ business, with George.

    • Normades says:

      If that’s the case it just proves they are SO bad at this. Instead of being in the same country with Harry and doing busy work they could have been making themselves visible on the world stage.

      And no way in hell will they beat Argentina. But supporting a team is also about being a gracious supporter, win or lose. Something Harry would know how to do

      • Jais says:

        And yet now I’m rooting for freaking England, well mostly Jude, bc I don’t want Argentina to win. Am I still bitter about Cape Verde and Egypt? Yes, yes I am.

      • Normades says:

        SAME

      • Digital Unicorn says:

        VARgentina don’t really deserve to have gotten this far they haven’t been playing well on top of poor behaviour from their players on the pitch (stamping on people). If they (VARgentina) get to the final it will be because of referee ‘decisions’ going in their favour.

        The behaviour of some of the South American teams has been shocking during this tournament, looking at you Paraguay.

      • QuiteContrary says:

        I think England has a real chance against Argentina. I mean, Argentina went to extras with Switzerland.

      • Jais says:

        Argentina should not have progressed as far as they have in this tournament. The playing has not been there. That’s right. And I stand by that statement.

      • s808 says:

        The CV and Egypt games showed me that Argentina are not unbeatable. England could do it but it will be hard. I think a big problem was that Argentina were expecting to walk all over CV and Egypt until both teams came ready to fight. Argentina will be up for it with England so it WILL be a battle.

  17. Normades says:

    I would laugh my ass off if Harry showed up to the match and they actually won. But even if he was there and they didn’t he would show what a class act looks like

  18. Smart&Messy says:

    Before the Kelce interview, he used to say he would attend if they reached the semi-finals. By the time they did the interview England was still in the race so of course the bar had to be lowered.

  19. Lady Digby says:

    No football fan over here is going to overlook him going to first World Cup final in 60 years if he chooses to remain on holiday! Questions about his workload and committment to patronages are going to ramp up if he’s a no show. Are any Aston Villa players playing for England?

    • Jensa says:

      Out of the whole World Cup squad (26 players), I think 3 are from Aston Villa. Still not enough to get William interested apparently.

  20. Becks1 says:

    He should be at the game against Argentina. There’s no reason for him not to be there. I expect to see a Spanish royal at the game today, maybe even Macron for France. This is a BFD and we’re seeing other royal families support their teams and crickets from England. Maybe he’s worried about establishing a precedent – if he goes to this game, he’ll have to go to the women’s world cup next year if the Lionesses make it far enough (which I expect they will), and I mean, at some point, he needs to draw a line. People can’t expect him to work EVERY summer. He can’t be expected to go to EVERY world cup where England is playing. That’s just insane. How can anyone work that much???????

    /sarcasm

    • Normades says:

      Macron won’t be there it’s the 14th of July.

    • Lauren says:

      Unfortunately for the Spanish RF one of their big annual events is on the same day so they will miss the game.

    • Lurker says:

      He couldn’t watch the Welsh team play in the Euros, although he disrupted his yacht holiday to go to Switzerland for the Lionesses. Do I hold a grudge? You bet I do. And I am German! The disrespect from the Prince of Wales!

      I am pretty sure Macron is torn today. He would have loved to see France play, but it is France’s national holiday.

    • Becks1 says:

      I can’t believe I forgot about July 14 considering how much chatter there was about France playing on this date. Duh lol.

      And I looked it up and apparently Felipe has already attended at least one match this tournament (in Mexico), so it really is just William as the outlier who isn’t going to anything.

  21. Jensa says:

    Attending a World Cup match is hardly gruelling work, is it, and it would be such an easy win for William. But no, too damn lazy I guess. And he can’t even blame it on the school run as we’re in school holidays. England are having a good competition so far (and Jude is becoming a huge break-out star), so there’s a lot of excitement and goodwill which William could piggyback on if he had any sense.

    • Normades says:

      Right?? Jude is cutie patootie and the best ambassador the UK has had in years. How hard is it to piggy back on that goodwill especially when you have the best (and probably air conditioned) seats in the house???

      • QuiteContrary says:

        I agree on Jude. He’s such a sweet guy.

        I was so disappointed that Harry Kane golfed with Trump. So gross.

        As for William, he’s a jinx so the team probably doesn’t want him at the match.

  22. Teagirl says:

    That second picture is strange. It’s as though William is like the pope and a blessing the player.

    • WaterDragon says:

      My favorite is the third one with the crazy bug-eyed look of total insanity. that is definitely a keeper.

  23. YankeeDoodles says:

    WanK won’t go to anyplace where they’re not the biggest stars in the arena. And if their experience of my hometown and its sporting culture is any indication of the reception they would likely face, they’d either get boos or indifference. These people are used to entering to a standing ovation, like at Wimbledon. They’re never happy just to be part of the crowd. It has to be all about them, all of the time. Yes, it is like the pope offering his benediction. Because — believe it or not — William will one day be head of the Church of England. No sarcasm. Just disbelief.

  24. Susan says:

    Thing is it costs the British people a lot of money to have royals travel and it’s on their dime. So…. With this in mind you notice that they are not leaving the UK that much anymore for big tours. They are staying close to home. Is it really worth sending a Prince for a football game?

    • Jais says:

      Ummm, except the royals have no issue traveling during their vacation time and the security for that is paid by the British people. So going to one game for the WC is not a big ask or break the bank moment. It’s on the east coast so even closer. It’s not LA😂

    • Bqm says:

      A first class ticket and hotel isn’t that much in the scheme of things. The sovereign grant just got a raise after all. And security, the only *direct* cost to the taxpayer, is there wherever they are. He should get off his lazy duff. They really need to put them on a salary rather than the SG. The monarch and heir already have the Duchies anyway.

    • Jay says:

      This kind of trip is what the taxpayer-funded Sovereign Grant and all of that taxpayer-funded security is actually for! The Wales have had no issues jetting off to Italy or Turkey over the last couple months, in addition to any vacations that aren’t written about.
      The difference here is that supporting England in their first world cup semifinals appearance since 2018 might actually bring some value for all the money already spent. If William said “I’m going to stay in the UK and host a huge family-friendly watch party on the grounds at Windsor Castle” that would be a different story, but he’s just going on vacation as always. Probably “borrowing” a billionaire’s yacht or a place in Mustique.

      The BRF just got a massive raise in the SG, despite having fewer and fewer members and doing much less – if they want to give some of that money back because of the economic situation the UK is in, they’re welcome to.

    • Susan says:

      I don’t disagree with what you each say. But it is a case of if you do you get crituzrd and if you don’t you go as well. There is no right answer here.

      • Lianne says:

        They criticize him every day no matter what. Might as well do something that ALSO is very popular. (i.e. he’d actually get far less criticism than usual for this b/c the Brits are so passionate about the cup)

  25. Kathalea says:

    Of course Willy is not going to the WC, because he is afraid to run in to Henry 🤭

  26. tamsin says:

    Apparently Harry is going to appear on James Corden’s After Hours pop up. It seems like he might go on after the semi-final between England and Argentina? If he does, and England makes it to the final, wouldn’t that impel William to make an appearance?

  27. Lianne says:

    Will someone please save these people from themselves?

    Seriously Bill this is such an easy win, wtf is wrong with you?

  28. Beverley says:

    William is useless, a complete waste of space!

  29. Cat says:

    Yeah, English people, Bellingham’s cute and all PERO EL QUE NO SALTA ES UN INGLÉS. Vamos Argentina, todavía. Do not count us out. Don’t be envious because the GOAT is ours and still being an extraordinary captain at 39.

  30. EllenOlenska says:

    Given the almost zero work he does at home I actually think staying away is a good thing. He does almost no real, meaningful work (not even of the shaking hands and smiling at pensioners variety). I definitely would have given him the side eye for showing up. However I am surprised he didn’t take advantage of his EXHAUSTING work week last week while Harry was in town and use that as justification for taking a trip to the states.

  31. B Overland says:

    Harry Kane is not the sharpest tool in the Box to begin with. If he decided to play with the Orange Felon last year he could have left it at “ I didn’t feel comfortable turning down the president’s invitation” but instead he decided to compliment and ass kiss as well. I think a lot of these aging European athletes want to settle in a cozy easy position in MLS eventually (Messi) and so are greasing that pathway now. Or he’s simply MAGA. It’s one thing for a team to be forced to go to the White House photo op by their ownership and management but it’s completely another to play a round of golf, have lunch and be one-on-one with that psychotic sexual offender voluntarily. As a huge England supporter I used to like Harry Kane but now he’s dead to me.

  32. Irisrose says:

    Go Argentina!

  33. jferber says:

    Yes, William will only come to the U.S. if England wins tomorrow and plays Spain the 19th for the World Cup. I read that Prince William wouldn’t go otherwise, because this is a “crucial transitional stage” for his heir and spare since each will be going to a new school. So NOW, it’s not that “the early years are important” because the kids aren’t little anymore, there will always have to be another “crucial” stage where William MUST spend time with his family (all summer, apparently) and the latest version is the “transitional stage.” I wonder what the next stage will be? The crucial teenage years? You KNOW the kids will ALWAYS have another crucial stage. It could be when they start marrying or when one of them has a first child with a spouse. THEN it will be the “crucial early years” for the grandchildren. Probably ALL other royals have children, but William is the only one who scrupulously avoids work because his children “need” him for one “crucial stage” or another. I call bullshit on all of this. Nanny Maria and the other nannies are dealing with every “crucial stage” while William vacations (probably separately from Kate and the children). He’s off having affairs, getting drunk, hanging with the blokes, etc. And he DARES to believe he’s better than Harry in every way? He is a delusional multi-millionaire work-shirker. Hell, if I were paid for my teaching job whether or not I came to school, why would I ever go to school (unless I were dedicated to the kids, which I was)? I’m retired now, but so is William. Just wow.

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