With his father King Charles' coronation last week, Prince William has been a busy man – and his exploits have taken their toll.
During an investiture at Windsor Castle, during which ex-England striker Luther Blissett received an OBE, Prince William chatted with the former footballer and shared "he couldn't walk for a week" after playing football the week before.
The 65-year-old former Watford player shared: "We had just a couple of little words. I did ask him if he would love to come and join us on the (Watford former) players club and he said yes, he would love to.
© Getty"He said he was playing (football) last week and he said he couldn't walk for a week afterwards. He says he still plays 11-a-side."
It's well-documented that Prince William is a big football fan, and is even President of the FA, a role he has held since 2006 after taking over from his uncle, Prince Andrew.
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The Prince of Wales regularly attends football matches, supporting his beloved Aston Villa as well as making an appearance at bigger games such as the Women's Euros finals in 2022.
His children, Prince George and Princess Charlotte are big fans of the beautiful game too, with Charlotte even recording an adorable message of support for the Lionesses ahead of the Euros final.
After the match, Prince William surprised onlookers by hugging each member of the Lionesses, celebrating their victory with them.
© GettyFootball is close to the future king's heart, as it's how he met some of his closest friends.
During a chat with footballers Harry Kane and Declan Rice in November 2022, Prince told the sportsmen that he has "a lot of friends" he met through playing football in his youth.
"Some of the greatest friendships are born from playing games and being pushed together in slight adversity," the Prince of Wales continued.
© GettyPrincess Kate's husband continued that playing huge games of football are some of his fondest memories from childhood.
He recalled playing four simultaneous games of football with his entire set at school – around 60 pupils – using multiple balls.
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"The sheer size and scale and just the fun of everyone running around chasing each other, I loved it.
"I was a defender, I was stuck at the back and told to just tackle," he continued.
William has fallen foul of tackles in recent years, giving a glimpse into a football he injured after playing with I'm a Celebrity star Jill Scott.
© GettyIn August last year, the father-of-three took to social media to wish footballer Jill luck in her retirement, adding at the end of his heartfelt message: "Tiny bit pleased there won't be any more slide tackles during 'friendly' kickabouts…" leading fans to wonder what the royal was talking about.
It turns out that around 10 years ago, Prince William and Jill Scott were playing football and she slide-tackled and "wiped out" the future King during a charity event.
Explaining what happened between herself and the royal, Jill explained: "It does stem back to about 10 years ago when we did a charity event and I slipped and slide-tackled him and actually wiped him out," she said on her BBC podcast Jill Scott's Coffee Club.
Scroll down to see Prince William's finest football moments...
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