William wanted George to wear England shirt to Wembley, but Kate ‘wasn’t keen’

The young prince has attracted attention for his spiffy suits

Joanna Whitehead
Tuesday 13 July 2021 09:20 BST
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Prince George and his parents, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge at Wembley for the Euro 2020 tournament
Prince George and his parents, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge at Wembley for the Euro 2020 tournament (Getty Images)

The Duke of Cambridge wanted Prince George to wear an England football shirt to watch the Euro 2020 final at Wembley, but Kate Middleton apparently “wasn’t keen”.

Marion Bartoli, the French former Wimbledon champion, shared the sartorial insights into the royal family after meeting with the Duchess of Cambridge at the tennis tournament last week.

Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live, she said: “Yesterday I had an afternoon tea with the Duchess and it was very much a discussion [about] whether George will be allowed to wear the jersey tonight at Wembley or not.

“William was for it, Kate not so keen, so we’ll see.”

The seven-year-old royal has attracted attention for the formal suit and tie outfits mirroring his father’s, which he appeared in at the Euro 2020 matches.

Prince George, who will turn eight on 22 July, is a well-known fan of England’s football team, and was photographed wearing his jersey for his birthday portraits taken by the duchess in 2019.

Duncan Larcombe, former royal editor of The Sun, said Prince William was George’s “absolute hero” and that the boy had “begged” his father to take him to the games.

He told OK!: “William would never have normally taken him to the football because it was an official outing in his role as president of the FA, but George absolutely begged to be allowed to come along.

“Kate and William are at pains to never expose the children unnecessarily to the cameras but he twisted their arm eventually.”

He added: “George idolises his dad. That’s why we saw him looking so smart in his suit – he really wanted to dress like William.”

The news follows Prince William’s condemnation of the racist abuse suffered by black England players following England’s Euro 2020 final against Italy on Sunday.

Bukayo Saka, Jadon Sancho and Marcus Rashford, have all been subjected to racist abuse on social media after they each missed a penalty.

Prince William wrote that the online abuse was “totally unacceptable”.

He tweeted: “I am sickened by the racist abuse aimed at England players after last night’s match.

“It is totally unacceptable that players have to endure this abhorrent behaviour. It must stop now and all those involved should be held accountable.”

Commenting on the racial abuse that has circulated online, a Facebook Company spokesperson said: “No one should have to experience racist abuse anywhere, and we don’t want it on Instagram.

“We quickly removed comments and accounts directing abuse at England’s footballers last night and we’ll continue to take action against those that break our rules.

“In addition to our work to remove this content, we encourage all players to turn on Hidden Words, a tool which means no one has to see abuse in their comments or DMs. No one thing will fix this challenge overnight, but we’re committed to keeping our community safe from abuse.”

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