The royal family will be cheering England on with rest of us this evening, but while they all support different club sides, there’s a strange connection between all the teams they’ve chosen
Every football fan in England will be cheering the national side on as they face Spain in the final of Euro 2024 this evening. But win or lose, and we hope it’s win, as soon as that final whistle blows, our briefly united nation of football will be split again as we go back to supporting our various favourite club sides.
That’s as true of the Royal family as it is of anyone else. But which sides to the royals support? The answer isn’t always obvious. Fulham or Chelsea might seem natural choices for King Charles III, if he were picking the team nearest to Buckingham Palace, or there’s Bristol and Swindon within comparatively easy reach of his beloved Highgrove.
But instead, the monarch plumped for the somewhat unlikely Burnley FC. Although the King does own a castle less than an hour away from the Lancashire team’s ground, he has a more philosophical reason for supporting the claret-and-blue side.
The King has an unusual, but worthy, reason to back Burnley (Image:Getty Images)
The King explained: “Burnley has been through some very challenging times and I’m trying to find ways of helping to regenerate and raise aspirations and self-esteem in that part of the world.
“My charities have been working there together to demonstrate that an integrated approach can produce the best dividends.”
In response, the club’s directors gave His Royal Highness was given a VIP season ticket and invited him to watch his favourite team from the Directors’ Box.
The King’s next football-related job might just be knighting England coach Gareth Southgate (Image:Getty Images)
We often inherits our dads’ preferences, when it comes to football teams, but Prince William – probably the biggest football fan in the royal family – went for a team with a similar strip to Burnley, but a ground some 90 miles away.
Speaking to the BBC in 2015, he explained why he decided to put his support behind support Aston Villa: “A long time ago at school I got into football big time, and I was looking around for clubs.
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“All my friends at school were either Man United fans or Chelsea fans and I didn’t want to follow the run of the mill teams. I wanted to have a team that was more mid-table that could give me more emotional rollercoaster moments.”
Prince William was at Wembley to see his beloved Villa take on Derby County (Image:PA)
He added: “Aston Villa’s always had a great history. I have got friends of mine who support Aston Villa and one of the first FA Cup games I went to was Bolton v Aston Villa back in 2000. Sadly, Villa went on to lose to Chelsea.
“It was fantastic, I sat with all the fans with my red beanie on, and I was sat with all the Brummie fans and had a great time.
“It was the atmosphere, the camaraderie and I really felt that there was something I could connect with.”
Catherine, Princess of Wales, is more closely associated with tennis – but she may just be hiding a footballing secret (
Image:
Dave Shopland/REX/Shutterstock)
The Princess of Wales has diplomatically said that she shares her husband’s support for the West Midlands side, but has privately let slip that her true passion may lie elsewhere. A child who chatted to Princess Kate at a charity event later told reporters: “We high-fived because she supports Chelsea and I support Chelsea. I love people who support Chelsea.”
She may have developed her affection for the London side after her parents bought her a flat that’s not too far from Stamford Bridge. Or she could have inherited her liking for Chelsea from true-blue uncle Gary Goldsmith.
Prince Harry, now he’s relocated to the US, probably calls the beautiful game “soccer” these days. He’s been seen at multiple England games over the years, but remained tight-lipped about which club side he might follow.
The late Queen handing a major international trophy to an England captain – dare we hope that history could repeat itself? (Image:AFP via Getty Images)
However, at a charity event in New Zealand the Duke of Sussex was reportedly overheard saying that “most of the royal family are Arsenal fans.”
The late Queen Elizabeth II was similarly modest when it came to pledging her allegiance to any one side, but West Ham fans have long claimed Her Majesty as one of their own.
Certainly, presenting the world cup to England – and Hammers – captain Bobby Moore in 1966 there was a warmth to her smile that suggested that she, too had picked a side that played in claret and blue.
