Prince William and Kate Middleton Cheer on England as They Reach the Women’s World Cup Quarter Finals

Last month, Prince William visited England’s Lionesses ahead of the Women’s World Cup to personally wish them good luck ahead of the tournament. And today, he and Kate Middleton sent a message of support on social media as the team beat Nigeria to go through to the quarter finals.

“Well done Lionesses! It was hard-fought but now we're on to the quarter-finals. Good luck,” the tweet read. The nail-biting game went into extra time before England won 4-2 on penalties. Kensington Palace had previously posted a message five days ago to support the team when they reached the knockout stages of the tournament after qualifying from their group into the final 16.

The messages have come from the Kensington Palace account rather than being tagged with a W or C which indicates a personal message from William or Kate (Catherine). However, the royals themselves are undoubtedly following the tournament closely. “You’re a great team, the vibe I get from you all is fantastic. There are a lot of teams out there who could learn a lot from the way you work together. Huge respect, and go get ‘em!,” William said when he met the Lionesses in June.

The Prince has been President of the Football Association, the governing body for England’s football, since 2006. However, since he became Prince of Wales following Queen Elizabeth’s death he has been criticized by some who feel the two positions at times mean a clash of loyalties. Actor Michael Sheen tweeted that William meeting the England men’s football team in November 2022 before their World Cup effort while holding the title Prince of Wales was “entirely inappropriate.” The Prince responded by telling someone during a visit to Wales that he supports “both.” “I have supported England since I was quite small,” he said. “I support England more in the football but Wales in the rugby. When I was growing up Wales didn’t get through to the tournaments but I will be supporting them all the way through the process.” When the event kicked off, the Prince posted a personal message on social media wishing both teams luck.

While Wales did not qualify for the women’s World Cup, the royal family could still find themselves in the spotlight over the question of divided loyalties if England play Jamaica in the quarter finals or Australia in the semi-finals—games that could take place depending what happens in the next few matches. King Charles is currently head of state in Jamaica and Australia but both countries have seen strong republican sentiment expressed in the past, debates which have been reignited since Queen Elizabeth's death.

England will play either Colombia or Jamaica in the quarter finals on Saturday. It is not known whether William would fly out to Australia if England reached the Women’s World Cup final.

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