After a month of intense competition, it was Spain who took home the title of World Cup champions against England in a thrilling grand final match Sunday evening.
But whilst the exemplary gameplay was quick to draw the eye, royal watchers were also in for a treat with the attendance of Queen Letizia of Spain and her sixteen-year-old daughter Sofia.
Notably, no member of the British royal family opted to make the trip down under to cheer their national women’s soccer team on to victory.
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Studio Ten host Angela Bishop slammed the Prince, labelling him a “disgrace” for skipping out on the final.
“This was a moment not to make a video with his daughter but to get her on a plane with him, come out here, and celebrate their team – their national team in the women’s World Cup,” she vented furiously.
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“To not be flexible enough to do that, to say, ‘it’s not in the diary’, to say, ‘it’s interrupting their summer holidays’ – none of those excuses cut the mustard….he’s going to pay for this.”
Sunrise’s Nat Barr was also quick to criticise the royal: “You would have thought this would have been an easy get and he does the video with Charlotte which is lovely, but really, that takes about five minutes and he could have been out here for such a massive, massive event.”
The video both women are referring to is one posted to the official Prince and Princess of Wales Instagram account, where William and Charlotte shared a ‘good luck’ message for the English team prior to the match.
“Lionesses, we want to send you a huge ‘good luck’ for tomorrow,” the Prince of Wales said.
“We are sorry we cannot be there in person, but we are so proud of everything you have achieved and the millions you’ve inspired here and around the world.”
His father, King Charles II also shared a message of good luck for the team: “Good luck today Lionesses, and may you roar to victory.”
Luckily, Queen Letizia stepped up on behalf of her fellow royals, greeting and congratulating each of the English players on the podium after their heartbreaking defeat.
Prior to the match, Queen posted a heartfelt message of support to her 105,000 followers on Instagram, with an accompanying video of her gushing about the Spanish team in an interview with Spain’s TV1 before kick-off.
“It’s a joy, and it’s exciting, to be here to support the Spanish football team. They are already champions,” the 50-year-old began the video.
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“After accompanying the Heiress [Crown Princess Leonor] on her first day at the Military Academy in Zaragoza, the Queen and the Infanta [Princess Sofia] traveled to Madrid to catch another plane to Sydney with a stopover in Abu Dhabi. On [their] arrival they met with the Minister of Culture and Sport, Micquel Iceta,” she revealed in the caption.
“Infanta Sofia is a great fan of football, a sport she has played and this same year accompanied the King [Felipe VI of Spain] in the Cup final held in Sevilla. Along with her sister, Princess Leonor, she also attended a match of the Spanish national team at the Euro Cup held last year in England.”
After Spain’s well-deserved 1 – 0 win, the Queen and her second-eldest daughter also joined the team on the field, the royals taking part in the post-match presentation, and even dancing merrily alongside their countrywomen as they celebrated their incredible achievement.
This of course made the absence of a British royal family member even more obvious, especially Prince William who is the current President of the English Football Association.
Royal watchers were sure the heir to the throne would make an appearance, especially considering it was the United Kingdom’s first World Cup final since 1966.
They were however left disappointed, the Prince of Wales’ opting to remain with his children across the pond.
After the match, the Spanish royal family took to X (formerly known as Twitter) to continue the celebrations.
“Champions! Champions! World Champions!,” they penned on their official account.
“You are the best football players in the world. This is FOOTBALL and it is HISTORY!”
“Thank you, Spanish women’s football team, for making all of Spain rock.”
