“I was on the school run this morning with the children and I said ‘what should I say to the England team when I see them today?’

“The best bit of advice I got was to eat twice the amount you normally would eat. So, I then have visions of you running around with massive great tummies and loads of stitches on the pitch. I think maybe take my youngest’s advice with a pinch of salt particularly around the physio teams.”

William did not say what advice Prince George and Princess Charlotte had during his speech, at St. George’s Park, England’s national football center.

The prince was acting in his capacity as president of the Football Association (FA), English football’s governing body.

The Wales family has had a tough start to the year after Princess Kate had abdominal surgery in January and was later diagnosed with cancer, beginning chemotherapy in late February.

The palace has yet to confirm whether Kate or their children will attend Trooping the Colour, King Charles III’s birthday parade, on Saturday, June 15.

If they did, it would mark the first public appearance of the year for Kate, Charlotte and Louis.

However, the palace recently suggested Kate had not yet been cleared to return to work and without her present, it may be more difficult for the children to attend as Prince William will be taking part in the military parade.

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.

Prince William has also been open about his appreciation for the sport. During a previous chat with footballers Harry Kane and Declan Rice, the prince revealed that he has football to thank for some of his closest friends, telling 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, being pushed together slightly in adversity,” he continued. Princess Katherine’s husband continued playing huge games of football, and some of his fondest memories from childhood involve these games. He recalled playing four simultaneous games of football with his entire set at school—around 60 pupils—using multiple balls. “The sheer size and scale and just the fun of everyone running around chasing each other, I loved it,” he recalled. “I was a defender and I was stuck in the back and told to just tackle.”