England’s men’s football team, Three Lions, lost their second EURO final in a row two weekends ago. Prince William was there, in person, to watch both of the finals. William was there in an official capacity, because he’s been the Football Association president since 2005. They gave him that patronage because they thought it would be easy for him – just show up to some football matches and try not to make an ass out of yourself, right? Well… it hasn’t worked out that way. From William’s racism gaffes to even more racism gaffes to his laziness to his inability to travel to support the women’s national team, it’s all been quite a sh-tshow. Given the prominent losses in finals for England’s national teams, it’s also possible that William is a one-man bad luck charm for English football. As such, William is stepping down as FA president. The official excuse is that he’s super-busy with the Duchy of Cornwall.
Prince William has stepped back as the President of the Football Association (FA), taking on a new role instead. The Prince of Wales was first appointed President of the FA in 2005 and has held the position for almost 20 years.
The royal’s decision to step back from the role is motivated by his greater focus on new roles and responsibilities in Wales and as Duke of Cornwall. Prince William will become Patron of the Football Association in a more scaled-back role.
Kensington Palace confirmed the Prince of Wales will also become Patron of the Welsh Guards Charity, the Royal Cornwall Agricultural Association and President of the Victoria Cross and George Cross Association. Royal patronage highlights the vital work of these organisations and allows their many achievements and valuable contributions to society to be more widely recognised and promoted.
My take: this is less about William’s schedule and more about several other big issues. One, England Football is going through a (necessary) overhaul, with Gareth Southgate also stepping down. They probably want a real president, someone with real ideas and a real plan to help them with the overhaul, not a royal dilettante who looks and behaves like a hooligan at the few games he does attend. Two, William is clearly a jinx. Many athletes are superstitious and William’s presence is bringing bad juju to the team. Three, I still believe that the courtiers and “kingmakers” behind the scenes are trying to limit William’s “animated enthusiasm,” which had photos of him screaming, shaking his fists and looking absolutely ridiculous circulating across social media. Extra bonus reason for William “stepping down” – he’s just really lazy. Incredibly lazy. Too lazy to watch football and call it work.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.
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- Denmark v England Euro 2024 20/06/2024. Group C Prince William in the stands ahead of the Euro 2024 match between Denmark and England at Deutsche Bank Park, Frankfurt, Germany on 20 June 2024. Editorial use only , Copyright: xNigelxKeenex PSI-19851-0046,Image: 883367551, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: imago is entitled to issue a simple usage license at the time of provision. Personality and trademark rights as well as copyright laws regarding art-works shown must be observed. Commercial use at your own risk., Model Release: no, Credit line: IMAGO/Nigel Keene / Avalon
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- Prince William, Prince of Wales celebrate 1-0 of Harry KANE, England 9 in the group stage match ENGLAND – DENMARK 1-1 of the UEFA European Championships 2024 on Jun 20, 2024 in Frankfurt, Germany.,Image: 883554360, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: imago is entitled to issue a simple usage license at the time of provision. Personality and trademark rights as well as copyright laws regarding art-works shown must be observed. Commercial use at your own risk., Model Release: no, Credit line: IMAGO / Avalon
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- Prince William, Prince of Wales celebrate 1-0 of Harry KANE, England 9 in the group stage match ENGLAND – DENMARK 1-1 of the UEFA European Championships 2024 on Jun 20, 2024 in Frankfurt, Germany.,Image: 883554394, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: imago is entitled to issue a simple usage license at the time of provision. Personality and trademark rights as well as copyright laws regarding art-works shown must be observed. Commercial use at your own risk., Model Release: no, Credit line: IMAGO / Avalon
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- Prinz William troestet Jude BELLINGHAM ENG, vor Siegerehrung, Siegerehrung, FINALE Spanien ESP – England ENG 2-1 am 14.07.2024, Olympiastadion Berlin. Fussball UEFA EURO, EM, Europameisterschaft,Fussball 2024 GERMANY vom 14.06.2024 – 14.07.2024. *** Prince William trotted Jude BELLINGHAM ENG , before award ceremony, award ceremony, FINAL Spain ESP England ENG 2 1 on 14 07 2024, Olympiastadion Berlin Football UEFA EURO 2024 GERMANY from 14 06 2024 14 07 2024,Image: 889794989, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: imago is entitled to issue a simple usage license at the time of provision. Personality and trademark rights as well as copyright laws regarding art-works shown must be observed. Commercial use at your own risk., Model Release: no, Credit line: IMAGO/Frank Hoermann/SVEN SIMON / Avalon
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- Harry KANE, England 9 William Prince of Wales sad after the final match SPAIN – ENGLAND 2-1 of the UEFA European Championships 2024 on Jul 14, 2024 in Berlin, Germany.,Image: 889806922, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: imago is entitled to issue a simple usage license at the time of provision. Personality and trademark rights as well as copyright laws regarding art-works shown must be observed. Commercial use at your own risk., Model Release: no, Credit line: IMAGO / Avalon
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- William, Prinz von Wales, Prince of Wales with son Prince George celebrate 1-1, next to Felipe VI. König von Spanien with daughter Princess Sofia, in the final match SPAIN – ENGLAND 2-1 of the UEFA European Championships 2024 on Jul 14, 2024 in Berlin, Germany.,Image: 889806980, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: imago is entitled to issue a simple usage license at the time of provision. Personality and trademark rights as well as copyright laws regarding art-works shown must be observed. Commercial use at your own risk., Model Release: no, Credit line: IMAGO / Avalon
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- William, Prinz von Wales, Prince of Wales with son Prince George celebrate 1-1, next to Felipe VI. König von Spanien with daughter Princess Sofia, in the final match SPAIN – ENGLAND 2-1 of the UEFA European Championships 2024 on Jul 14, 2024 in Berlin, Germany.,Image: 889806983, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: imago is entitled to issue a simple usage license at the time of provision. Personality and trademark rights as well as copyright laws regarding art-works shown must be observed. Commercial use at your own risk., Model Release: no, Credit line: IMAGO / Avalon
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- William, Prinz von Wales, Prince of Wales with son Prince George celebrate 1-1, next to Felipe VI. König von Spanien with daughter Princess Sofia, in the final match SPAIN – ENGLAND 2-1 of the UEFA European Championships 2024 on Jul 14, 2024 in Berlin, Germany.,Image: 889807337, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: imago is entitled to issue a simple usage license at the time of provision. Personality and trademark rights as well as copyright laws regarding art-works shown must be observed. Commercial use at your own risk., Model Release: no, Credit line: IMAGO / Avalon
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- William, Prinz von Wales, Prince of Wales with son Prince George celebrate 1-1, next to Felipe VI. König von Spanien with daughter Princess Sofia, in the final match SPAIN – ENGLAND 2-1 of the UEFA European Championships 2024 on Jul 14, 2024 in Berlin, Germany.,Image: 889807337, License: Rights-managed, Restrictions: imago is entitled to issue a simple usage license at the time of provision. Personality and trademark rights as well as copyright laws regarding art-works shown must be observed. Commercial use at your own risk., Model Release: no, Credit line: IMAGO / Avalon
Stepping down or was told to step down and by whom if that is the case. He did a shitty job and it was clearly noticeable. He couldn’t even do something so easy without screwing it up.
He probably was told he would have to start doing real work, so he left..
They started asking him for opinions and real ideas, he just knew it was time to step down, scale back, do it his own way and forge his own path, of course. He just wants to watch the game like he’s at home. This dude steps down eevry.time he needs to step up. + for his image, he prefers that the team wins, he can be losing all the time as royal patron/heir to throne. It’s embarrassing, so he’s ok to get fired.
Why would they ask William for opinions and ideas? He isn’t a soccer professional or coach of any kind. I think he’s bored with the role so he quit.
I hope the team wins everything from now on, now that he’s gone.
That would be great. Once he leaves they win
I’m assuming he’ll still attend as royal patron so hopefully we’ll continue to get these ridiculous “enthusiastic” cheering photos.
But…we are all assuming he was asked to step down, yes? He was, right? If so (and that’s what I’m going to believe), I love that for him. I hope he feels rejected and his little fee-fees are hurt. 🤷🏽♀️
I confused as to what this step downward actually entails. Because as president of the FA they weren’t actually going to ask his advice and opinions on transfers, the premier league, or any other thing that seriously has something to do with football. He simply doesn’t have the expertise to give valuable advice. In short: it was always a symbolic role. What is going to change now that he is patron?
@Chloe with him gone they will have someone who can actually be counted on for opinions and leadership. The role can now be a real role which they need. I also think the mess of him not showing up at the women’s world cup when other FA presidents and even some other royals did also factored into this. It was a terrible look that made it harder for the FA to argue they are really prioritizing the advancement of women’s football.
Chloe, being president of a FA is a big deal, especially in countries where football is a massive business. A bad President can completely fuck up football and William was never up to task to fill that position. A FA President has to work, network, bring in money and prestige. Being a Royal Patron Dilettante is all he was qualified for!
Definitely because of his bad luck and his wife brings the same to England rugby
I agree with points 1. Overhaul, 2. Jinx, and 3. Poor photo optics. I’m willing to bet (because I just can’t see him putting in the work as P.o. Wales and D.o. Cornwall), that there might also be someone(s) who have power to dictate what he does to a certain extent. This is not just coming after England’s defeat, but also after a massive governmental change.
“William is clearly a jinx“ it is so true, I raised athletes so I lived this for decades.. I was even the jinx one season 🥴😉🤣.. I have been waiting for the press to pick it up, I am glad you did.
Omg! 😆 Did your kids really tell you that?! Did they try to be gentle about it?
Yes they did I got to stay home an entire basketball season it was wonderful and my only season off from a nine sports a year for decades.. and no kids never do those things gently in my experience. I went years with unwashed socks and lucky underwear.. my one put his lucky shirt in a box when he stopped playing and still has it. Superstitious athletes are no joke.. (I built a room in the garage so they could keep all the superstitious unwashed items out of my house)
That’s quite interesting. I don’t think it would have been his decision.
This bit made me laugh though: “he’s super-busy with the Duchy of Cornwall”. The only thing keeping him busy there is counting his money.
Charles was dedicated to duch y work and his lazy son hardly bothers with it.
Yet another example of the royals getting a massive increase in their welfare checks to do even less faux-work.
Honestly think every time they mention how busy he is with duchy business, I think of how he left Kate with newborn George to go to a 10 week“bespoke” course at Cambridge on How To Manage Giant F*cking Estates. And then didn’t finish it, but managed to be not where his wife and newborn heir were for like two moss.
And I fully expect that if he actually gets involved there, it’ll be the beginning of a huge nose dive in the profitability of the duchy.
He probably doesn’t do sh*t as FA President, which is stupid. They need someone with some leadership skills in that position. Being a royal patron is what he is doing currently anyway.
I’m guessing he does next to nothing except attend games he wants to attend.
William never seemed interested in the duch y. He skipped out on completing a course for instance. I doubt he’ll be seen there much maybe for some photo ops William also is hardly gracious when the British team loses.
Agreed. William can force his duchy employees to pretend the zoom kings works and has great ideas but independent organizations don’t have to continually fluff his ego. Why would he bother to learn anything when he can just hire nepotism idiots to tell him he’s brilliant?
There is nothing wrong with being an enthusiastic fan.
There is if you are supposed to be over a number of teams and your enthusiasm is only for one of them.
In case we were in doubt that KP reads Celebitchy….
Hahha sorry to disappoint definitely not KP. Everything he does is critiqued and ridiculed on this site (and I am here for it!). But sometimes, like being an overly enthusiastic fan – who cares?
I am sure, being “enthusiastic” is against the royal protocol.
You can be an enthusiastic fan without looking like a hooligan which is what happened to bulliam. No matter how we often hide our inner self sometimes it will show itself. Similar to bulliam he can’t hide his inner rage/laziness because it’s so ingrained in him that it’s just second nature.
This!!!!!! A million times!!!!!!! It actually frightened me, I’ve seen the anger and violence of these sort of men, but if they are rich and posh, then it’s jolly japes, but if they are working class without a plum in their mouths, then they are yobs. ALL of them are frightening, misogynistic, and unpredictable as to what they will do.
Tommy Robinson held a rally in London yesterday. Filled with thousands of these types.
Boris Johnson was a member of the Burlington Club, whilst at Oxford. They trashed restaurants where they held their dinners. And burned £50 notes in front of homeless people whilst laughing.
William was showing his true colours with his “support” imo.
He may be an enthusiastic fan, but he is also a sore loser which is bad for morale.
Yeah, it wasn’t that long ago that he left directly after England lost to Italy; he didn’t even bother to go down to the field to congratulate the winners.
He looked very reluctant to go down this time.
I agree with @MSLOVE, Prince William too often stomped off angry into his own disappointment after losses and didn’t display politeness and respect for sport to greet and congratulate teams that won. Most recently he became a posterchild for all that’s unpleasant about English football fans, even to the detriment of the other UK national teams.
Sadly only for the men’s teams. He couldn’t muster any enthusiasm for the Lionesses who ended up winning the tournament. It’s not even the enthusiasm that is the issue but the inconsistent and sexist support and acting like a sore loser like he did in Italy. That isn’t the behaviour of a well adjusted adult.
The memes of him raising his fist in what looks like uncontrolled emotion are actually fun and show us what he’s likely to do behind the scenes in anger.
He’s been pretty much fired from the role – he did fk all as President accept attend a few games, being made a Patron is a fancy way of saying ‘stfu and sit down’. Given the backlash his attendance at the Euro games generated am not surprised by this – hopefully the BATFAs follow suit as he does less for them.
Karma is clapping back at him!!!
Those photos are priceless
Football players (except David Beckham) don’t like him. Football fans don’t like him. He’s more likely to be booed than receive any kind of welcome, let alone a standing ovation. He brings nothing to the table other than bad optics.
Beckham only likes the royals because he wants a Sirship.
I don’t know what this man does all day.
He drinks, watches action movies, takes helicopter rides, contemplates his navel, swipes through dating apps, thinks about Harry, hates Harry, cyberstalks Harry and yells at a frayed photo of Harry.
@Gabby
He yells at a frayed photo of Harry 😂😂😂😂
George is learning to behave like his father at these games Unfortunately
My guess is that someone was like, if all he wants to do is attend a few games a year and hand out trophies, he can do that just as well as patron and we can get a real president who actually wants to work for the FA.
so yeah this was not his choice.
Call me crazy, but it seems like the FA wants someone as their president who will actually be a leader and show up, and he didn’t do that. Why would they keep him on as president when they could have somebody who would be good at the job? You know, qualified, willing, and competent as opposed to…none of those things.
The interesting thing will be if other organizations (ahem, BAFTA) follow suit and start to re-evaluate what they get out of having William as president. He’s not interested in films (other than Top Gun, I guesss), he’s a gaffe machine, and half the time he can’t even be bothered to attend the awards which are literally held in his own backyard. Plus, let’s face it, there are no guarantees that Kate will ever do red carpet events with him ever again.
It blows my mind the BAFTA president doesn’t watch all the nominated movies. He watches what he likes, then goes to the award show (if he is available) and tells the artists that he didn’t see their movie, makes a few dumb jokes, calls it a day.
Prince Edward should take over b a f t a
At least it is something he has always been interested in.
Don’t forget showing off his new velvet slippers, boring/ shocking other attendees to death with his racist ‘sense of humour’ and drinking at film premieres. He’s a ungracious, boorish dilettante at best. He needs to show his worth through doing actual work and barred from any thing labelled ‘entertainment’ until he does!
Personally I think George is the “ju ju” royal and should never be allowed anywhere near a football final when England are playing! As for William being demoted? Well it’s about bliddy time. This should have been done the second he refused to watch the women in the WC final. He was President of the FA and badly let down the women’s team with that flimsy excuse of video. A more enthusiastic president would have been on the first plane over to OZ the minute the women had won the SF. In fact instead of sending that rubbish video he could have taken Charlotte with him.
If this was simply a case of William being too “busy” then he wouldn’t still be president of BAFTA. This demotion (imho) is about controlling the image of both the BRF and the FA and being named patron is a compromise. The FA have worked hard in trying to curb bad behaviour at football matches and the last thing they need are countless number of memes on social media showing their president looking like a thug. I don’t know who finally decided “enough is enough” but, I very much doubt this was William’s decision. Which makes me wonder if KCIII had a quiet word somewhere? With the BRF’s popularity falling since the passing of QEII the last thing the royals need are “less than regal” pictures of the heir plastered all over the front pages.
Ok, so I looked up the patronages and presidency that William is taking on. The Welsh Guards Charity supports the active members and veterans of the Welsh Regiment, Battalion and Guardsmen. The Royal Cornwall Agricultural Association organizes an annual 3-day agricultural show in June. And the Victoria Cross and George Cross Association seems to be an association for people who have been awarded the Victoria Cross and George Cross – the main charitable function is to maintain and repair the graves and monuments of the honorees. Make of this what you will.
According to the derangers being Patron is a bigger role than being President. Now GB News is saying the opposite. Anyway, I think the bigger story is William has take on only 3 new patronages.
Lol, someone should remind the derangers that being the next King is bigger than Patron.
He’s so busy! No time for the footy as he has to WhatsApp the people in charge at the Duchy of Cornwall! Btw, just who uses WhatsApp for business? Am I being old when I think that shows he doesn’t care? Or is he trying to keep the Duchy people at arm’s length?
One last thought… I’d laugh if they offered the job to Harry 😉
Don’t forget William was involved in a major Soccer/Football corruption scandal, trying to purchase some votes for England to have the World Cup 2012 and 2016. From a suite in a Zurich hotel, he offered a Knighthood, a meeting with the Queen, a scholarship to attend a soccer school in England to World UEFA Football Association officials in exchange for their votes. It backfired, and the Cup went to Russia and then Qatar. The officials were sacked and there was a trial, etc. But William, along with then Prime Minister David Cameron were protected, in spite of their own degree of corruption in the scandal. Cameron offered visas to family members.
Did not know this! 👀
I have never heard this!!
What!? Wow!
In the time between Diana and Meghan, I paid no attention to the RF. I’ve never heard of this either. Can’t believe they made the little criminal the FA president after that illegal stunt.
Whoa! I didn’t know any of this!
The things I learn on this site never cease to amaze me.
He got the “job” when he was in his mid-20s? And he never figured out it might accrue to his and their benefit to support the women’s teams robustly, stand firmly and enduringly against racism, sexism, and homophobia in the sport (not just a brief statement newsjacking a controversy), etc. etc.?
Yeah, they need to rethink that role
But I thought he had won the hearts of the nation by being so enthusiastic ?
This also frees up more time for the school run. Very important.
@Brassy Rebel comment of the day!
😂😂😂
1. My immediate reaction is someone in the shadow government didn’t think William looked regal at the lioness game. They advised him to no longer go to their games, which just turned things weird.
2. What’s the point of being president if you wont/can’t go to women’s matches.
I think it was a mistake for William to skip the women’s matches. Lol. It made him look weak. Yeah he was hooting and hollering but that’s what Britain is known for!!! Lol. Yeah he got way too mad at the games but it was funny. I actually cringed and had some good laughs off of this.
William skipping the rest of their games let everyone know he is not in Charge! That’s the real story. Who is in charge? Is it the soccer people or royal people.
He could have bought his daughter to a women’s or men’s match.
I have a theory that the moment King Charles dies, William will immediately enlist Eugenie and Beatrice as working royals, so he can do even less than he already does. And probably his wife too.
Maybe he’ll even let Zara and her awful husband become paid working royals. Then they can stop doing fast food commercials.
What do you get when you cross Shrek with a gorilla? Zara’s husband.
I’ll go along with that theory. Everything William is doing is to set up a “do-nothing” monarchy. As king, he’ll do the bare minimum required by law.
Obviously FK expects to be indulged by the BM however little he does but I wonder if they will continue to cape for him when he is king? Despite cancer KC is fulfilling the role and doing 500 royal engagements per year like his mother did before him. Say KW does as little as poss possible and when he does show up, turns up drunk, rude and unbriefed in both senses of the word. Are the tabs going to continue to cover for him to preserve the monarchy at all cost
Z a r a has no royal title. Mike is not a royal unless William confer s a title on Mike so they can have titles.
I noticed how different the reactions were during this past Euros tournament. Especially from the fans. When the Spanish king went and did a half-time interview during one of the earlier rounds, talking about how the team was playing and how he truly believed they’d win again, the fans were enthusiastic. Same for the Belgian king, with the Belgian fans pretty much saying “oh, he’s clearly our good-luck charm because that’s the only game we played decent”. Whereas the England fans were… at best indifferent about William being there.
I need English football fans to chant “Jinx! Jinx! Jinx!” at William whenever he attends games.
It’s a bummer they can’t call on someone who, you know, built an entire international sporting event from the ground up and has kept it going for 10 years to be their next president.
Wracking my brains here for that one… 😉