Prince William doesn't hesitate as he reveals one thing King Charles 'hates'
Prince William has candidly shared one thing King Charles "hates," which could come as a shock to England during their World Cup run.
England supporters may be somewhat deflated to discover King Charles is not among their number. Or at least that's the suggestion from his eldest son, Prince William, following a candid revelation on the New Heights podcast. The Prince of Wales made the disclosure while chatting with NFL legend Jason Kelce and his brother, Travis.
Speaking ahead of the Three Lions' hard-fought last-16 victory over Mexico on Sunday, the trio covered everything from Super Bowls to Prince William's role as patron of the FA. The World Cup inevitably emerged as a burning topic given Thomas Tuchel's men remain in contention for the title. Conversation then turned to how Aston Villa supporter Prince William's passion for the sport was first ignited. Travis, who recently wed Taylor Swift, asked the heir to the throne whether it was King Charles who had nurtured his love of football. However, Prince William left no room for doubt as he replied: "Absolutely not. My father hates football."
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Fathers steering their children towards the clubs they themselves support is nothing unusual across the UK. Nevertheless, King Charles' complete indifference to football meant his sons were left to carve out their own paths into the sport should they wish to pursue it.
Prince William and the Kelce brothers erupted into laughter at the Royal's reply before he went on to say: "My family haven't got a particularly long history with football. There are a few of us who support teams.
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"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.
"And some childhood friends took me to my first game. Actually I saw [ex-England manager] Gareth Southgate the other day, just this week, and he reminded me the first match I saw, he was playing in it."
Former Aston Villa stalwart Southgate featured in the side that defeated Bolton on penalties in April 2000 to secure a place in that season's FA Cup final. Prince William was present at Wembley that day and his devotion to the Villans was ignited.
Villa unfortunately went on to fall 1-0 to Chelsea in the 2000 FA Cup final. Nevertheless, they gained an enormously high-profile supporter, who has since watched his club claim the Europa League title this year following a 3-0 triumph over Freiburg in May.
He'll be hoping that isn't the only piece of major silverware he witnesses one of his teams lift this summer. England's next fixture is a quarter-final clash against Norway on Saturday.
