'Roar to victory': King Charles' message to Lionesses ahead of World Cup showdown
19 August 2023, 23:07 | Updated: 20 August 2023, 08:53
The King has sent a "roaring" message to Sarina Wiegman and England's Lionesses ahead of the Women's World Cup final.
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Urging the squad to "roar to victory", the King released the message beside a picture of a lion and the royal crest.
"Good luck today lionesses and may you roar to victory! Charles R" the message read.
The royal decree followed a video message from Prince William and daughter Princess Charlotte, wishing the squad good luck ahead of Sunday's final against European rivals Spain
The royal, who is the president of the Football Association (FA), will not attend the women's final in Australia due to the supposed 'large carbon footprint' a trans-Atlantic flight would create.
It comes as Queen Letizia of Spain is set to travel to Stadium Australia in order to cheer on England's European rivals.
"Sorry we can't be there," said William taking to X - formerly Twitter, adding: “Lionesses, we want to send you a huge good luck for tomorrow.
“We’re sorry we can’t be there in person, but we’re so proud of everything you’ve achieved and the millions you’ve inspired here and around the world. So go out there tomorrow and really enjoy yourselves,” William said.
Another high profile Brit not making the 10,000 mile journey is Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, who blamed "unavoidable" diary commitments for his lack of attendance.
The PM instead sent Foreign Secretary James Cleverly and Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer to Australia in his place to represent the UK Government.
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It follows widespread criticism surrounding the PM and royals' decision not to fly to Sydney in order to cheer on England's women during the historic match.
The game will be England's first World Cup final since England's legendary 1966 victory which saw Sir Bobby Moore lift the men's cup.
It was a game which saw William's grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, in attendance at Wembley.
It comes as England manager Gareth Southgate wished the players good luck, adding: "There is of course no advice, as you've done more than us already" - referencing the team surpassing the success of their male counterparts.
Kick off is due to take place at 11am UK time on Sunday - 8pm local time, at Stadium Australia.
The match marks a second chance for England coach Sarina Wiegman, after finishing runners-up with the Netherlands against the USA in the 2019 World Cup Final.
England beat hosts Australia 3-1 in Wednesday's semi-finals to reach the final, with goals from Ella Toone, Lauren Hemp and Alessia Russo.
It follows widespread uproar from fans following Nike's decision not to make England goalkeeper Mary Earps' shirt available for purchase.
Earps, the world's number one keeper, has publicly denounced the decision by the kit manufacturer - even offering to fund production herself, as a petition on Change.org to begin production reached 60,000 signatures.
England fans were quick to note Earps omission from the Nike advert.
Nike's social media post read: "Pure energy. Just one game separates the pack from the [title]. Like A Lioness."
However, one fan commented following the Lionesses success: "You do realise that Mary Earps is making your decision to not sell her shirt look more and more ridiculous as the days go by."
