Prince William’s exuberant soccer celebration went viral on social media and sparked some jokes from fans.
The Prince of Wales traveled to Germany to watch England play Switzerland in the quarter-finals of the UEFA Euro 2024 tournament.
England went a goal down in the 75th minute, sparking fears they would be knocked out, not least of all because goals have not come easy for them in the tournament so far.
However, just five minutes later, England equalized, sending fans—including the future king—wild.
Prince William, in his capacity as president of the FA, English soccer’s governing body, was seen screaming with joy and punching the air.
The moment sparked jokes on social media and was picked up by the pundits during the BBC coverage of the game. One fan posted the moment to TikTok, in a video which has received over 820,000 views.
Host Gary Lineker played the clip and said: “We’ve got royal approval as well I think. There we go, yes.”
Former England player Rio Ferdinand replied: “Love that. Bit of anger there weren’t there?”
One comment on the TikTok clip reflected: “He’s just going though what the rest of England were going through!!!! Doesn’t matter whether he’s royal or not … he’s one of us!!”
Another reply read “guy forgot who he was for a min,” while a third read: “His face before the goal he was stressed out like the rest of us.”
Some on social media playfully joked that William looked reminiscent of England’s less respectable fans who are sometimes seen engaging in violence outside the stadiums.
The Twitter account for Matt Lucas, a famous U.K. comedian, wrote: “England let down by hooligan skinhead fans again. Can anyone identify this thug?” in a post viewed over 1.5 million times. Though it should be noted his account says it is run by his staff.
And some fans superimposed the picture of William celebrating on scenes of soccer fans fighting. “Who did this [crying laughing emoji],” one account wrote on X, alongside the picture. The post received over 1.1 million views.
Prince William’s role as president of the FA means he is a regular at England games and often brings Prince George, who turns 11 this month, with him.
However, the young royal, who is second in the line of succession, stayed at home on Saturday.
England won the match, at the Dusseldorf Arena, but only after a nail-biting penalty shoot out, earning themselves a place in the semi-finals.
Prince William wrote on X: “Nail biting to the very end. Well done @England ! Semi-finals here we come! We believe. W.”
Jack Royston is chief royal correspondent for Newsweek, based in London. You can find him on X (formerly Twitter) at @jack_royston and read his stories on Newsweek‘s The Royals Facebook page.
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