The Prince of Wales has joked about Brits’ impressive ability to “handle our beer”, his quiet confidence in England’s hopes in the World Cup and his experience at a Taylor Swift concert on a popular sports podcast with Jason and Travis Kelce. William made an unexpected cameo in a new episode of the brothers’ podcast New Heights last night, just hours before NFL star Travis tied the knot with pop princess Taylor Swift in New York.

The prince, who joked in May that he “hoped” to be invited to the nuptials, instead talked all things football in a special 20-minute episode. During the chat, William was asked to choose his four greatest English football players of all time.

He immediately chose Sir David Beckham, before discussing Gary Lineker’s goal record, which current captain Harry Kane is threatening to overtake.

“Harry Kane could end up being one of the greatest English strikers we’ve ever seen,” William said.

The prince went on to name Steven Gerrard, Frank Lampard, Wayne Rooney and Sir Bobby Charlton – not quite sticking to the target of naming four players.

He said: “Wayne Rooney’s got to be in there too. That generation I was really hopeful for and absolutely love them. But, if you’re going, you know, a long way back, it’s Bobby Charlton as well, you know, one of the greatest of all time English players. There’s a selection there. They’re different genres.”

Gary Lineker is no longer the BBC’s lead football pundit, after he left the broadcaster in May 2025 following significant backlash for his social media posts and criticism of breaking the corporation’s impartiality rules.

The post that prompted his early departure was one criticising Zionism that included an illustration of a rat – used in Nazi propaganda to dehumanise Jewish people. He deleted it and “apologised unreservedly” for sharing the post, but it was mutually agreed that he leave the BBC.

The former England player found himself at the centre of several rows over his social media usage, most of which involved him sharing his political views. He hit out at the Tory’s migrant policy, criticised former defence secretary Grant Shapps and was a vocal opponent of Brexit.