The Duke of Cambridge attended the FA Cup Final on Saturday at Wembley Stadium, watching a nail-biting match between Manchester City and Watford.
William, a lifelong football fan and President of the Football Association, attended the match to thunderous applause, and ahead of the game, spoke with the BBC, saying that “I’m incredibly excited, and I think next week is going to be a nervy affair for me, but I can enjoy today and relax and may the best team win.
“But I think Man City have been a bit of a juggernaut this season and have been playing seriously well, so I hope Watford have got their big boy shorts on today.”
Manchester City won the match 6-1, but William had kind words for both teams on the Kensington Palace Twitter account afterwards.
Speaking about Watford, the account tweeted, “Commiserations to Watford – you should be proud of your performance and achievements in reaching the final.”
To Manchester City, they tweeted, “Congratulations Man City on a fantastic FA Cup victory, and winning a truly historic treble.”
This is the first time in history that a single football team has won the FA Cup, the League Cup and the Premier League title; the Ladies Arsenal team completed this treble in 2007.
William’s attendance at the FA Cup final meant that he had to miss the wedding of his cousin, Lady Gabriella Windsor, at Windsor Castle. Kate also missed the wedding due to the planning and preparation of her garden ahead of the Chelsea Flower Show this week.
William missed the FA Cup final last year because of another wedding – his brother, Harry’s, where he was the best man.
William has been the President of the Football Association since 2006 and has recently been partnering with the association on mental health-related projects, including Heads Up and the program A Royal Team Talk, which saw him chat with five legendary footballers about men’s mental health.
