Prince William today jokingly passed on some advice from his son Prince Louis to the England men’s football squad to ‘eat twice as much as you normally would’.
The Prince of Wales spoke to the team after meeting manager Gareth Southgate this morning to wish them all the best ahead of the Euro 2024 tournament.
William visited St George’s Park, the national training ground in Burton-upon-Trent, to pass on a message of good luck to the 26 players and present them with shirts.
The Prince, who is president of the Football Association, was welcomed to the home of England football by Southgate before the team’s first match this Sunday.
He joked that Louis’s advice was to ‘eat twice as much as you normally would’, after asking his children on the school run this morning what he should tell the team.
The Prince of Wales and England manager Gareth Southgate at St George’s Park this morning
The Prince of Wales (right) speaks with Jill Scott (left), Harry Kane (centre) and Gareth Southgate (second from right) during a visit to St George’s Park this morning
The Prince of Wales addresses players and staff during a visit to St George’s Park today
The Prince of Wales speaks with England manager Gareth Southgate at St George’s Park today
The Prince of Wales speaks with schoolchildren during a visit to St George’s Park today
(left to right) Jill Scott, Prince William, Ollie Watkins and Harry Kane at St George’s Park today
The Prince of Wales and England captain Harry Kane at St George’s Park today
England captain Harry Kane speaks with schoolchildren at St George’s Park today
Prince William makes a presentation to England captain Harry Kane at St George’s Park today
Southgate also spoke to William about how the squad is preparing for the tournament, which begins on Friday, ahead of their Group C opener against Serbia.
William told the group that he was ‘thinking on the way here what would I say today’ and ‘what could I offer to all of you’ and ‘what could I say that could help’.
He added: ‘I was on the school run this morning with the children and said ‘what should I say to the England team when I see them today’.
‘The best bit advice I got was to eat twice the amount you normally would eat.
The Prince of Wales speaks with schoolchildren during a visit to St George’s Park today
The Prince of Wales and England manager Gareth Southgate at St George’s Park today
The Prince of Wales speaks with England’s Ollie Watkins at St George’s Park today
The Prince of Wales speaks with schoolchildren during a visit to St George’s Park today
The Prince of Wales speaks with England’s Ollie Watkins at St George’s Park today
Ollie Watkins and Harry Kane pose with schoolchildren during a visit by William today
England players Luke Shaw and Jordan Pickford during a visit by the Prince of Wales today
The Prince of Wales grabs a coffee with Harry Kane at St George’s Park today
The Prince of Wales speaks with schoolchildren during a visit to St George’s Park today
The Prince of Wales and England manager Gareth Southgate at St George’s Park today
The Prince of Wales speaks with schoolchildren during a visit to St George’s Park today
‘So I’m now having visions of all of you running around with massive great tummies and loads of stitches on the pitch. So I think maybe take my youngest’s advice with a pinch of salt.’
The Prince also shook hands with Southgate, remarking how ‘in a few hours’ the squad was ‘getting ready to go’ and head to Germany.
Asked what he thought of the advice to ‘eat twice the amount’, England captain Harry Kane told one reporter today: ‘We’ve got to be careful with that one – I don’t think the nutritionist was too happy with that advice!’
Kane added: ‘But it’s great to have him here, he’s such a big supporter of us and he’s been to a few camps now before the major tournaments.
‘I think it just gives us extra motivation – we know how much it means to the country, to the fans, and that’s everyone from the Royal Family to the local shopworker.
The Prince of Wales speaks with schoolchildren during a visit to St George’s Park today
Prince William makes a presentation to England captain Harry Kane at St George’s Park today
The Prince of Wales (second from right) speaks with Jill Scott (left), Harry Kane (centre) and Ollie Watkins (right) during a visit to St George’s Park today
The Prince of Wales and England manager Gareth Southgate at St George’s Park today
The Prince of Wales speaks with schoolchildren during a visit to St George’s Park today
The Prince of Wales (second from right) speaks with Jill Scott (left), Harry Kane (centre) and Ollie Watkins (right) during a visit to St George’s Park today
The Prince of Wales gets a coffee during a visit to St George’s Park in Burton upon Trent today
England captain Harry Kane during a visit by the Prince of Wales to St George’s Park today
The shirt presented to England captain Harry Kane by the Prince of Wales today
‘The whole nation comes together at this moment and we feel responsibility to try and make them proud, so the only way we can do that is to go out and give everything for this badge that we wear and hopefully we can do a good job.’
To further mark the team’s send off, schools from across the Midlands have also been invited to St George’s Park to attend a football tournament.
Children will play friendly fixtures against each other – with William and Southgate dropping in during the tournament to watch and meet some of those taking part.
William is a passionate Aston Villa fan who often takes his son Prince George to see games – including a handful of times over the past season.
The England men reached the final of Euro 2020 only to lose on penalties to Italy, while they were eliminated by France in the quarter-finals of the 2022 World Cup.