Prince William 'left unable to walk for a week' after playing football ahead of Coronation
12 May 2023, 15:17 | Updated: 12 May 2023, 15:30
Prince William revealed he was left "unable to walk for a week" after playing football just days before the Coronation.
The heir to the throne revealed his struggles during an investiture ceremony at Windsor Castle, in which he handed former England and Watford striker Luther Blissett an OBE for his services to football and charity work.
After receiving the honour, the Blissett revealed he tried to sign-up the Prince for his football team during their chat, and made a lighthearted admission about his match fitness.
"We had just a couple of little words," Blissett said. "I did ask him if he would love to come and join us on the (Watford former) players club and he said yes, he would love to.
"He said he was playing (football) last week and he said he couldn’t walk for a week afterwards. He says he still plays 11-a-side."
Blissett is the Hornets' all-time leading goalscorer, and was one of the most prominent black English footballers in the 1970s and 80s.
He is now patron of Sporting Memories, an organisation that uses sport to unlock memories in people with dementia, depression or loneliness.
The Prince, who is the president of the FA, has made no secret of his passion for The Beautiful Game and his love of Aston Villa.
William has said he chose to follow the Birmingham side because he wanted to be different from his friends. "A long time ago at school I got into football big time. I was looking around for clubs," he told the BBC.
"All my friends at school were either Man United fans or Chelsea fans and I didn’t want to follow the run of the mill teams."
But the aches and pains he picked up didn't appear to hold him back during King Charles' coronation on May 6, in which the prince played a prominent role, kissing his father on the cheek and pledging his loyalty to the monarch before an star-studded audience at Westminster Abbey.
