Prince William made a surprise appearance on the 'New Heights' podcast hosted by NFL stars Travis and Jason Kelce, where he revealed a candid detail about his father, King Charles. The episode, released on Friday, dropped just hours before Travis Kelce's wedding to global superstar Taylor Swift.
King Charles and Football
During the nearly 30-minute episode, the Prince of Wales was asked whether his father had influenced his support for Aston Villa in the same way the Kelce brothers' father shaped their allegiance to the Cleveland Browns. William answered: "Absolutely not. My father hates football." All three laughed at the revelation.
William explained that his connection to football developed independently, through friends who introduced him to matches. He recalled attending his first game in 2000, watching Aston Villa face Bolton, which helped spark his long-standing support for the club.
William's Football Journey
He said: "My family haven't got a particularly long history with football. There are a few of us who support teams. My football love came from friends taking me to my first match and at school growing up you can't avoid the football chat, it's everywhere."
William also revealed that he would travel to the World Cup in the United States if England got to the final. When Travis asked if he would make the trip, William responded: "Definitely. If we're in the finals."
Football vs. Soccer
William joked with the brothers after Jason referred to the sport as 'soccer' instead of 'football', saying: "So first of all, I have to correct you. It's football." William is now patron of the Football Association (FA), the oldest football association in the world, formed in 1863.
The three also spoke about the NFL and American football culture. When asked how the US was doing as one of the co-hosts of the World Cup, the prince said: "It's fantastic. I think it's been a brilliant World Cup. It's been really well started and I think the tournament's been well balanced."
Culture Shock for British Fans
Travis also asked the prince what he thought the "biggest culture shock" would be for British fans travelling to the US to watch the FIFA World Cup. Travis joked: "Is it the light beer?" To which William answered: "Yeah, the beer definitely is going to taste different. You haven't met your match till you've seen a lot of beer drinkers from the UK."
He added: "I think the scale of your stadiums, I think the size of them is really going to be quite a culture shock for a lot of fans. We really know our football, so to see stadiums that are bigger and kind of an amazing atmosphere that we can also emulate here, that's quite a big deal."
