Prince William will only travel to World Cup 2026 if England reach the final

Prince William will not travel to the United States for the 2026 World Cup unless England reach the final, it is understood, with Kensington Palace yet to confirm the Prince of Wales’s plans for the tournament.

William, a well-known football fan and patron of the Football Association, attended several England games during Euro 2024 in Germany, including the final in Berlin — where he was joined by Prince George as England lost 2-1 to Spain. Despite that level of engagement last summer, he is not expected to fly across the Atlantic for any group-stage fixtures in the United States.

Should England make it to the showpiece match on July 18 at the New York New Jersey Stadium — which would be their first World Cup final since 1966 — William is understood to be prepared to make the trip. Reports that he might travel in early July to coincide with America’s 250th Independence Day celebrations on July 4 are believed to be wide of the mark, partly due to the current state of UK-US diplomatic relations following Donald Trump’s public criticism of Prime Minister Keir Starmer over the Iraq War.

William’s conditional approach to attending World Cups is not new. He did not travel to Qatar in 2022 or Russia in 2018, with both tournaments having been held in countries considered controversial hosts. His absence from Qatar was attributed to a busy winter schedule, though it was reported that arrangements might have been explored had England progressed beyond the quarter-finals.

He also skipped the 2014 tournament in Brazil, though Prince Harry attended England’s group game against Costa Rica — a 0-0 draw. In 2023, William did not fly to Sydney for the Lionesses’ Women’s World Cup final, citing the impracticality of such a long journey for a short stay. However, he did travel to Switzerland with Princess Charlotte last year to watch England’s women beat Spain on penalties to claim a second successive European Championship.

England opened their 2026 World Cup campaign with a 4-2 victory over Croatia on Wednesday, with William issuing a message of support before kick-off: “Good luck to England ahead of their first World Cup group match tonight. Here’s to a great tournament ahead.”