Prince William will head to Germany to watch England play Denmark next Thursday

The Prince of Wales will head to Germany next week to watch one of England's opening matches in the group stage of the tournament.

By Emily Ferguson, Royal Editor

BRITAIN-FBL-ENG-ROYALS

Prince William will watch England play Germany next week (Image: Getty)

Prince William, who is President of the Football Association, will head to Germany to watch England in one of its first matches in the Euro tournament.

The Prince of Wales will head to the Frankfurt Arena next Thursday, June 20, to watch England play Denmark in the group stages of the competition. Kick-off is set for 6pm local time.

England is in Group C of the competition, along with Slovenia, Serbia and Denmark.

Their opening game is on Sunday night against Serbia, at 9pm local time.

On Monday, the Prince of Wales met with Gareth Southgate's 26-player squad before they headed to Germany to prepare for the tournament.

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Players were surprised to see the future King walk in, as they had not been told of his visit in advance.

The 41-year-old prince gave an off-the-cuff rallying speech to the players, where he told the team that he had asked his children on the school run this morning what they would say to the 26-player side.

“The best bit of advice I got to ask you was to eat twice the amount you normally would eat,” he said.

“So I then had visions of you all running around with massive great tummies and loads of stitches on the pitch so I think maybe take my youngest's advice with a pinch of salt, particularly around the physio.”

On a more serious note, William told them he had seen “every single one” of them play this season and praised their efforts on the pitch.

He said: “Tournament football is brutal and it requires a lot more than you've already given…It's going to be difficult, it’s going to be fun, it’s going to be challenging, it’s going to be everything that you’ve ever dreamed of, you know, wearing that England shirt.”

The prince said that wearing the England kit means you have a target on your back” as “everyone wants to beat us” but he said he had every faith in the squad.

He continued: “What Gareth has instilled in all of you over the years, I really feel that you’re a unit. You fight for each other, you play for each other and you really care about putting that shirt on.

“And I just really want you guys to know how much it means to everyone back here, that you go out there, you give it your all, you play for the shirt, play for each other, play for the country because everyone’s behind you.

“We really care about what you’re going to do.”

William concluded his pep talk by telling them: “I’ll be watching every single game. We get very much into it, really enjoy it and just the best of luck guys.”

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