Prince William Does His Best Influencer on Instagram Stories

Ever since Kate Middleton and Prince William first started building their social media following back in 2015, they’ve been embracing new ways of connecting with people around the world. On Thursday, William took to the couple’s Instagram account to answer a few questions solicited through the app’s story function. Though he focused mainly on the Earthshot Prize and the fun of seeing the prize’s awards ceremony this week, he did find the time to share his thoughts on a few upcoming football matches.

After one commenter asked William who he thought would win this year’s Europa League cup, he answered with a reference to his well-documented love for the Birmingham-based Aston Villa soccer team team. “I should say, will Villa win a European cup this year, is probably more accurate,” he said, according to People. “I would like to think they would. I think we’ve got a good chance in the Europa Conference league. And actually, we get back tomorrow, and I’m rather looking forward to tuning into Villa’s game against Alkmaar, which will be at Villa Park.”

He added that he originally wanted to attend the match in person but he was still feeling jet-lagged from his recent return from Singapore, where he traveled to attend the climate change prize’s ceremony on Tuesday. “I think I might actually fall asleep watching the game,” he said. “But I’ll be watching it from home, cheering on the Villains.” Back in April, William proved just how rapt he can be during a match when he was photographed at Villa Park with Prince George. Father and son reacted nearly identically, placing their hands on their faces, during the afternoon’s most shocking moments.  

Continuing their technological outreach on behalf of the prize, the Prince and Princess of Wales uploaded a panel discussion between William and the prize’s chair Christiana Figueres to their YouTube page on Friday. During the discussion, which was filmed at the Earthshot+ event on Wednesday, Figueras asked the prince for his thoughts about Tuesday’s ceremony. 

“Well, I won’t let you in on all of my thoughts, but I’ll share the ones I can.” he joked. “I’m not the kind of person who sits around and says, ‘That was great, pat on the back. Job well done.’ Well, obviously I say that to the team and they’ve done a brilliant job, but I’m alway striving for more.”

He went on to discuss his hopes that the prize can expand even further over the next decade. “We’re on this journey, and we have got this period of a decade of change,” he said. “We’ve got these next 10 years to really make an impact, make progress, and remind people about what’s going on around them. Whether you live in the global south, global north—west, east, north, south—this affects all of us, and my job is to listen and learn.”

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