Prince William wished the women’s Welsh football team good luck ahead of their Euros debut at 5pm today.
Posting on X in Welsh, he said: ‘Pob lwc i Gymru wrth iddyn nhw chwarae am y tro cyntaf ym Mhencampwriaeth Ewros y Merched. Mae hi’n foment falch a hanesyddol i bêl-droed Cymru. W’.
For those unable to read Welsh, in English the post translated to: ‘Best of luck to Wales as they make their Women’s Euros debut. A proud and historical moment for Welsh football. W’.
Thousands of fans have flown out to the tournament in Switzerland to rally around the team as they face their first opponents – 2017 champions the Netherlands.
Despite being the lowest ranked team in the Women’s Euros 2025, fans appear hopeful they could win.
Dressed in Welsh kits and waving flags, beaming fans arrived in swarms to support their team.
In Wales, women’s football dates back to the late 19th century and gained popularity during World War One.
But in 1922, the Football Association of Wales (FAW) imposed a ban on women’s football, prohibiting matches from being played at any FAW-affiliated grounds.
The ban remained in place until 1970 and their first game at association level wasn’t until 1973.
Their first qualifying match against Switzerland for the Euros in 1995 was played at Cwmbran Stadium, and attracted a crowd of just 345.
But today, Wales have the second highest ticket sales of all the nations at the Euro’s 2025.
As a result, Switzerland appears to be filled with fans in red, yellow and green bucket hats.
And Wales boss, Rhian Wilkinson wants to show the fans they’re backing the right team.
Her message is ‘show the world who we are’.
Prince William’s post comes as no surprise as he revealed in September 2022 that he was trying to learn the Welsh language, after being named Prince of Wales following the death of his grandmother Queen Elizabeth II.
In 2024, he revealed he was using popular language app Duolingo to help him.
Prince William and Kate Middleton inherited the titles of Prince and Princess of Wales following the late Queen’s death in September 2022 – having previously been the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.
His father, who is now King Charles, held the title of the Prince of Wales for more than 64 years.
And William isn’t the only leader to support the team.
Posting on X, Sir Keir Starmer said: ‘Good luck to @Cymru on your first ever @WEURO2025 game today!’
