Royal Family News
England’s Lionesses Win 2022 Euro Championship Final: Prince William Congratulates The Team
England's women's football team, nicknamed the Lionesses, has won the 2022 Euro Championship final.
The Duke of Cambridge, Prince William, who is also the president of the Football Association, was at Wembley Stadium in London on Sunday cheering on the team along with a record attendance of 87,000 fans.
The final match of a European Championship in both the women's and men's games saw England beat Germany 2-1 after the game went into extra time.
Prince William could be seen cheering loudly as Chloe Kelly scored the team's second crucial goal ten minutes before the end of the match.
Sharing his joy on Twitter, the Duke wrote, “Sensational!
An incredible win!
Trending:
At Lionesses!
And the whole nation couldn't be prouder of you all!
Wonderful to see history in the making tonight at Wembley.
Congratulations!”
He signed the post, W, revealing it was from him directly.
William then quoted a tweet by the Lionesses' official account which read, “We have done it!”
He added, “Yes you have, and you've inspired a nation too!”
Shortly after the game ended, following in the footsteps of his grandmother Queen Elizabeth, Prince William also enjoyed the very rare duty of handing over a major soccer trophy to the winning team.
The Queen was the last royal to perform the duty when England won the Soccer World Cup at Wembley Stadium in 1966.
Beaming, the Duke of Cambridge put on a heartfelt display as he presented the Lionesses with their trophy following the victory.
He hugged England's European Women's Championship winning Lionesses and had words of praise for Chloe Kelly who scored the decisive goal against the opposing team during overtime.
English actress Lisa Riley was among those to seize on the moment as she told her 132,000 Twitter followers, “Prince William hugging the players making me cry my eyes out.
Lots of pictures of cups.
And then she put the true meaning of the word, Champions!
With 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 Lions!
Or Lionesses.
The whole country is behind you, Lionesses.
You are a credit to hashtag England and hashtag football.
Congratulations!
Hashtag Lionesses.
Hashtag Lionesses Live.”
Broadcaster Alistair Stewart wrote, “By appointment to HRH Prince William, a hug for at Leah C. Williamson.
Well done HRH Prince William.
That's genuine enthusiasm and pride.”
A few minutes after the match, the Queen also sent a message of congratulations to England's Lionesses after the fantastic achievement, calling the team an inspiration for future generations.
Her Majesty called the win a significant achievement and said the team's performance has rightly won praise.
Early in the day, the dad of three delighted fans when he released a video alongside his daughter Princess Charlotte as they shared their excitement about the match.
In the touching tribute, which was posted on both Twitter and Instagram, William and Charlotte spoke directly to the camera.
The Duke said, “We both want to wish the Lionesses the best of luck for tonight.
You've done amazingly well in the competition and we are rooting for you all the way.”
Charlotte sitting beside him added, “Good luck.
I hope you win.
Bye.”
Sunday night's final had been a tense 90 minutes with flying tackles and yellow cards peppering a highly energetic match watched by Prince William in the crowd.
But the introduction of Ella Tooney looked to have settled it after she broke a fizz a shot past helpless German keeper Mel Froomes, watched by a record 87,000 in the stadium.
There was heartbreak minutes later as Magal worked her way into position to equalise, devastating England fans across the country.
With only 10 minutes left, the game was left balancing on a knife edge with the ultimate prize at stake.
The stalemate could not be broken, going into another agonising 30 more minutes of extra time which at first had produced nothing more.
But Kelly was not about to let the game go to penalties and picked the biggest stage in the world to produce her first-ever international goal.
She dominated German keeper Froomes to propel England to a 2-1 lead and set the game beyond any doubt.
An estimated 19.5 million are thought to have watched the match on television, according to the Daily Mail report.
The Duke of Cambridge's presence at Wembley Stadium and his heartfelt congratulations to the Lionesses have further cemented his reputation as a passionate supporter of football in the UK.
The team's performance and victory have earned them praise and admiration from fans across the country, inspiring future generations of female footballers to follow in their footsteps.