Prince William says England must win 2026 World Cup, jokes Charles hates football

Prince William used Travis and Jason Kelce’s New Heights podcast to talk football, family and England’s World Cup hopes, in a 28-minute appearance that landed hours before Travis Kelce was expected to marry Taylor Swift in New York. The heir apparent to the British throne used the casual American sports format to sound less like a constitutional figure and more like a fan, while still speaking as president of the English Football Association and as an Aston Villa supporter.

William set the bar for England plainly, saying success at the 2026 FIFA World Cup would mean "winning it." He also said he would travel to the United States if England reached the final, a detail that carries extra weight because the U.S. is one of the tournament’s co-hosts. The comments put a royal face on the kind of travel planning many England supporters are already imagining for a tournament spread across North America.

The conversation leaned into football culture in ways that felt designed for the Kelce brothers’ audience. William jokingly corrected Travis Kelce’s use of "soccer" to "football," a small exchange that underscored the transatlantic sports divide even as the prince tried to bridge it. He also added a rare family anecdote from inside the monarchy, saying his father, King Charles III, "hates football."

The podcast slot itself was a piece of image-making. New Heights reaches far beyond Britain, and William’s decision to use it let him speak to American sports fans at a moment when the royal family is trying to look more relaxed, current and globally fluent. The timing, with the episode released on July 3, 2026 and tied to the Kelces’ orbit around Taylor Swift, added a pop-culture sheen that placed William in a space usually reserved for celebrity banter rather than constitutional signaling.

The link between the two families was already established in 2024, when William and his children, Prince George and Princess Charlotte, attended Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour in London. Travis Kelce appeared onstage, and Swift later posted a backstage photo with William, George, Charlotte and Kelce after the Wembley Stadium show. That earlier encounter gave the podcast appearance a familiar cast of characters, but this time William was there as a football authority, selling England’s World Cup ambition through one of America’s most influential sports and entertainment platforms.