While most footie mad teenagers across the UK will tuning in to England’s first World Cup match against Sweden on Sunday morning, two of the team’s more prominent fans will be missing the match because they have to go to church. That, however, is the price you pay for being Prince William and Prince Harry.
As England star striker Michael Owen and the rest of the team take to the field in Saitama, Japan, the two young royals will be attending a church service at St Mary’s Church, Swansea. Both princes are well known fans of the hallowed game – 17-year-old Harry was famously spotted sporting an England scarf when the team beat Colombia in the 1998 World Cup in France – but they were reportedly happy to give priority to the service for their grandmother’s Golden Jubilee.
In a rare public statement, William, 19, said on Monday: “Obviously we’re sorry to be missing England’s opening World Cup game, but of course we’re confident that England are going to do well. We’ll both be catching up with progress in the other matches.”
It is not known whether the princes will be allowed to fly out to Japan for any of England’s later games, as they have exams to study for later this term. Their uncle, Prince Andrew, is expected to attend the game on Sunday in his capacity as president of the Football Association. However, although pagers and mobile phones are not allowed into the church, it is believed the princes will find some way to keep up with England’s progress. “I’ve no doubt some means will be found of letting them know the score,” said Canon Alun Evans, the Vicar of Swansea, on Monday. “Some people have joked that we could put up a scoreboard in the church but I don’t think we’ll go that far.”
Photo: © Alphapress.com
A renonwed football fan, Prince Harry was famously spotted sporting an England scarf when the team beat Colombia in the the 1998 World Cup finals in France
Photo: © Alphapress.com
In a rare public statement, Prince William said both he and his brother were sorry to be missing the game, but "of course we're confident that England are going to do well"
