The Prince of Wales has hailed the World Cup as “brilliant” and said a successful tournament for England would be “winning it”.
William spoke about his love of football on a podcast, co-hosted by Taylor Swift’s fiancé Travis Kelce, and during the good-natured chat joked about the King’s interest in soccer with the quip “my father hates football”.
Podcast Appearance and Wedding Speculation
The interview was released hours before American football player Kelce is expected to tie the knot with his superstar fiancée at New York’s Madison Square Garden, but there was no mention of the pending nuptials and only a passing reference to Swift in the broadcast.
During an appearance on Heart Radio’s breakfast show in May, the future king joked about receiving an invitation to the highly-anticipated summer wedding by at first saying “no comment” and laughing when he was asked.
William added: “That feels like a showbiz excuse but it’s not. I’m hoping, and I’m sure there might be an invitation around, but we’ll see.”
World Cup Success and Travel Plans
In the pre-recorded chat, held a few days after England’s first World Cup match against Croatia, William was asked by Travis’ brother Jason Kelce, who co-hosts their New Heights podcast: “What in your mind is a successful World Cup for England?”
The future king replied “I think winning it”, and when quizzed if he would “cross the pond” if England made it all the way, he said: “Definitely. If we’re in the final.”
When asked how the US was doing as a co-host of the World Cup, alongside Canada and Mexico, the prince said: “It’s fantastic. I think it’s been a brilliant World Cup. It’s been really well started and I think the tournament’s been well balanced.”
Connection with Taylor Swift and Family
The prince has a connection with Swift after he took his two eldest children to see her Eras Tour concert in London last year and introduced Prince George and Princess Charlotte to the singer and her fiancé backstage.
He also joined Swift and US rock star Jon Bon Jovi on stage for an impromptu rendition of Bon Jovi’s Livin’ On A Prayer in 2013 at a charity event held at Kensington Palace in aid of the homeless charity Centrepoint.
King Charles and Football
William made himself and his podcast hosts roar with laughter when he joked about Charles not liking football after being asked how his passion for premier league team Aston Villa began.
He added: “My family haven’t got a particularly long history with football. There are a few of us who support teams. My football love came from friends taking me to my first match and at school growing up you can’t avoid the football chat, it’s everywhere.”
Meeting the Prince and Mount Rushmore of English Soccer
Travis mentioned the moment when he met William and his eldest children at his fiancée’s concert saying: “That was honestly one of the coolest moments ever was meeting you and the little ones that day. Me and Jason joke about it all the time.”
The NFL star and his brother Jason, a retired American football player, asked for the prince’s “Mount Rushmore of English soccer players” – a reference to the famous US mountain featuring carvings of four leading presidents.
William picked David Beckham, Gary Lineker, Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, Wayne Rooney, Bobby Charlton and England’s most inspirational player at the moment Harry Kane.
Rooney was a player praised by Jason, and William said he felt England had a chance of winning the tournament when the former Manchester United played.
The prince added: “But as each World Cup goes on and the results don’t quite go your way…a little bit of hope gets chipped away each time.
“And so I’m just, you know, I’m taking it calmly and quietly and like, ‘come on, we’re going to do well and see how we go’. But I am quietly confident, I think.”
Passion for Football and FA Role
He also spoke about the passion football generates in himself and many other fans of the game.
“So over here, the tribalism of your club team, and it’s like a second family for a lot of fans really, means it plays very important in your emotions,” said the prince.
Commenting on his mood after his team Aston Villa lose, he added: “And, you know, my weekend goes from being either the best we can in the world when we win or frankly, I don’t want to see anyone on Monday morning because I’m really down.”
William, the former president of the Football Association (FA) and now its patron, was asked about his support of the governing body of English football.
He replied: “I think the role I’ve wanted to play with the FA has been very much kind of cheerleader, supporter of all things England team.”
William went on to say: “I think trying to support our World Cup or European bids, you know, this country particularly is mad about soccer and football, so trying to get a World Cup to be hosted here or a Euros here is fantastic.
“I’ve been trying to do a bit of work on that but also I think I’ll be trying to help reform the system a bit as well.”
