Prince William Personally Congratulates The Lionesses But He Won't Be Traveling to the World Cup Final
England's Lionesses have made history by making it into the soccer World Cup final after beating hosts Australia 3-1 in Sydney today. And excited fan Prince William, who is also President of the FA, has cheered them on with a personal message.
"What a phenomenal performance from the @Lionesses – on to the final! Commiserations to @TheMatildas, you've played brilliantly and been fantastic co-hosts of this World Cup," a message on Kensington Palace's social media posted a few seconds after the game read. For the first time in the tournament, the message was tagged with a W, indicating that it is a personal message from the future king rather than one by aides on his behalf.
However, a royal aide said yesterday that Prince William will not be travelling to Australia to watch the final in person. No specific reason was given, but royal family members are taking a break from public duties right over the summer holidays. William and Kate last appeared publicly in July and Kate has reportedly been spotted attending a festival near to their country home Anmer Hall in Norfolk this month.
Buckingham Palace did not respond to requests over whether the King will attend the women's World Cup final, however it has never been suggested or expected that he would. Charles also holds the role of head of state in Australia due to its position as a commonwealth realm. He has yet to visit the country as King and last traveled there in 2018 with wife Camilla. William and Kate's last visit to Australia was in 2014 when they took baby Prince George, although there have been reports that a planned 2020 visit was axed because of COVID. William became Patron of the FA in 2006 and a report on the royal family's website points out that he has regularly attended FA Cup finals and England games. He visited the Lionesses ahead of the World Cup at their training ground St George's Park in June.
The Lionesses will play Spain in the World Cup final on Sunday and a win will give them the chance to be European and World champions. Australia will play Sweden on Saturday to determine third place in the tournament.
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