PRINCE William has revealed who he is supporting during the World Cup – and it is already proving to be controversial.
William has been President of the English FA since 2006 but Prince of Wales since September.
Prince William has been President of England’s FA since 2006
Michael Sheen has hit out at Wills, saying it was ‘inappropriate’ for the prince to back England while holding the title of Prince of Wales
He has joked he is supporting both England and Wales in their World Cup 2022 campaigns.
Not everyone is happy with his decision to back England, with Welsh actor Michael Sheen calling the Prince of Wales’s support for England in the Qatar World Cup as “entirely inappropriate”.
Sheen said his backing showed a complete lack of sensitivity after he gave Cymru’s World Cup rivals a special send-off before the tournament.
Prince William told the Three Lions squad: “The rest of the country is behind you, we are all rooting for you. Enjoy it.”
Both sides play each other in the group stages on November 29.
And while his backing, as President of the FA in England, may be understandable to some, it has caused anger in Wales.
Sheen said that the heir to the throne should be embarrassed for backing England at the same time as holding the title of Prince of Wales.
Sheen tweeted: “He (Prince William) can, of course, support whoever he likes and as President of the FA his role makes visit understandable – but surely he sees holding the title Prince of Wales at the same time is entirely inappropriate? Not a shred of embarrassment? Or sensitivity to the problem here?”
Many supporters were in total agreement with Sheen’s comments.
Owen Willliams said: “He’s English, he can support England. In fact, he can support whoever he wants. But that title is objectionable – it implies national subjugation, it must end. He’s ‘Prince of Wales’ by dint of his dad giving him the title. It means literally nothing else, end it.”
Sion Jobbins said: “William is English and should proudly support England. No problem or bitterness with it. I don’t need him supporting Wales out of duty. Let’s drop the farce and pretence of title of Prince of Wales and allow William to be himself.”
One Twitter user said: “I have to say I agree. I’m a fan of his but he can’t be tone-deaf in his new role. If he is Prince of Wales he can’t be parading around supporting a rival at world stage competition. It’s embarrassing.”
Not everyone agreed, however.
CONTROVERSIAL DECISION
David Jenkinson said: “He is the president of the English FA, of course he is going to support England. His title as Prince of Wales has nothing to do with it.”
William addressed criticism of his support for England’s football team as Prince of Wales on his first visit to the Senedd in Cardiff, today.
The future King tackled the subject head on during a light-hearted chat with the Llywydd Elin Jones during a tour of the Siambr.
The Presiding Officer showed the Prince her Wales football bucket hat, which she had on her seat inside the chamber and said: “They play each other in a few weeks time. I won’t ask you!”
‘I’M SUPPORTING BOTH’
But he replied: “No, it’s ok, I’m telling everyone I’m supporting both, definitely. I can’t lose.
“I’ve supported England since I’ve been quite small. But I support Welsh rugby and that’s my way of doing it.
“I happily support Wales over England in the rugby so I’ve got to be able to play carefully with my affiliations.
“ I worry otherwise if I suddenly drop England to support Wales then that doesn’t look right for the sport either. So I can’t do that.”
He added: “An England v Wales World Cup final would be the best, that would be pretty good.”
He went on: “I’m making sure I’m out there supporting Wales through all the process because I know it’s a big deal for Wales. When I was growing up, Wales weren’t getting through to the tournaments, so I had to make a choice.”
The Llywydd told William: “I’m much older than you and when I was growing up Wales weren’t getting through to the tournaments. There had been some “horrible results.”
Wills asked: “1958, I believe was the last one?” “So it’s a big deal.”
“It’s a huge deal,” she replied.
Ms Jones, a football fan, said she would not be going because the World Cup is taking place in Qatar, adding: “It’s tragic that it is in Qatar, but the First Minister is going out and that’s going to be absolutely fine for him to go out, in my view.
“But it’s confused.. we have this great huge happiness about it but then it’s a shame it’s in Qatar and a lot more people could enjoy it.
“The Euros in 2016, they were glorious. I was there at the game when Wales beat Belgium 3-1 and that was absolutely fabulous.
“But we will have the rugby world cup in France next year, that will be a big deal,” said William.”
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Wills sent England on their way to Qatar after helping to reveal the squad numbers.
He has “no plans” to visit Qatar.
William was made Prince of Wales following the death of the Queen
Prince Wiliam gave a send off to the England squad before they flew out to Qatar
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