Welsh actor Michael Sheen has hit out at Prince William as being “entirely inappropriate” for supporting England in the World Cup, while holding the Prince of Wales title.
The two countries are due to meet in the group stages of the Qatar tournament, facing off at the Ahmad bin Ali Stadium on November 29. William, who is President of the Football Association, visited the England players on Monday to hand out their squad numbers before they jetted off to the Middle East.
The heir, 40, told the team: “The country is behind you” later adding: "I'll see you in the final". But in a sign of his dual role, William on Wednesday for the first time visited the Welsh Senedd in Cardiff since being made Prince of Wales by his father after the late Queen’s passing.
The future king, who is said to be learning the language, tried his hands at a few words but embarrassingly confessed “I can’t speak Welsh”. Award winning actor Sheen, whose rousing speech to the Welsh squad which went viral ahead of their World Cup appearance, questioned whether the Prince should acknowledge the “sensitivity to the problem” of publicly showing his allegiance to England.
The star of stage and screen, posted a message on Twitter referencing a video from the official Football Association page showing William speaking to and hugging players including Manchester City star Jack Grealish.
He said: "He (William) can, of course, support whoever he likes and as President of FA his role makes visit understandable - but surely he sees holding the title Prince of Wales at same time is entirely inappropriate? Not a shred of embarrassment? Or sensitivity to the problem here?"
Sources close to the future king have said William is "aware" of the sensitivities of him taking the title after it was handed to him in September after the late Queen’s passing. But together with wife Kate, who has taken the Princess of Wales title, courtiers insist he wants to "deepen his understanding of the issues and opportunities of greatest importance to the Welsh people".
In an attempt to quell the growing row over his allegiances, William did tackle the subject head on during a lighthearted chat with the Llywydd Elin Jones during a tour of the Siambr.
The Presiding Officer showed the Prince her Wales football bucket hat, which she had on her seat inside the chamber and said: “They play each other in a few weeks time. I won’t ask you!" But William, who has been patron of the Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) since 2016, described the delicate balancing act, replying: "No, it's ok, I’m telling everyone I’m supporting both, definitely.
“I can’t lose. I’ve supported England since I’ve been quite small. But I support Welsh rugby and that’s my way of doing it. I happily support Wales over England in the rugby so I’ve got to be able to play carefully with my affiliations. I worry otherwise if I suddenly drop England to support Wales then that doesn’t look right for the sport either. So I can’t do that."
“We can agree to disagree,” said Ms Jones. “An England v Wales World Cup final would be the best, that would be pretty good,” added William.
He went on: “I’m making sure I’m out there supporting Wales through all the process because I know it’s a big deal for Wales. When I was growing up, Wales weren’t getting through to the tournaments, so I had to make a choice.”
William joked that he continues to have meetings online but was struggling with “connection issues”. The Prince also addressed calls for him to learn Welsh, saying: “I need to brush up on mine. I can do Bore Da (good morning). I can do a few phrases. Dwi ddim yn galli siarad gymraeg ( meaning I can’t speak Welsh).
“I’m very happy to speak a bit of Welsh, I just won’t be able to do much. But I’m all in favour of giving as much effort (as possible).” He later told Ms Jones that he has a few Welsh phrases that he uses, including 'bore da' - good morning.
He also said: "Dwi ddim by galli siarad gymraeg", which means "I can't speak Welsh". There are currently no plans for William to have a formal investiture ceremony like his father, the new King, who was officially invested with the title Prince of Wales by the Queen during an event at Caernarfon Castle in July 1969.
The prince, who served as an RAF search and rescue helicopter pilot when living on Anglesey with wife Kate, spoke to Fist Minister Mark Drakeford after the Queen’s death and "expressed his and the Princess of Wales's honour in being asked by the King to serve the Welsh people" during the call.
William concluded his visit by meeting with the Welsh Youth Parliament, where he heard about issues affecting the younger generation. Speaking afterwards, former Youth Parliament member Ffion Fairclough, 17, from Pontypridd, said she spoke to the Prince about climate change and the environment and the need to make public transport more affordable to people.
But she added: “I also found it quite difficult because there's some people in my constituency and also I am of the belief that somebody who is called the Prince of Wales should be elected by the people of Wales. There are concerns about how, if he hasn’t been voted for by people in Wales, how can he make decisions about Wales?
“But if he can help make Wales a better place I’m happy with that. I think it was important that we did have this discussion.”
William and Kate used their first engagement as the new Prince and Princess to travel to Anglesey and Swansea on September 27 - when royal mourning ended - to meet people and communities in Wales.
Both are understood to be keen to pave their own path in the roles, building trust and respect of the people of Wales over time.
