The Prince of Wales has spoken with England stars Harry Kane and Declan Rice about the life lessons football has taught them, saying he has learnt "disappointment is a part of life”.
Prince William and the World Cup hopefuls discuss their fondest football memories and how the sport has bolstered their mental wellbeing during a 25-minute video available on YouTube.
The episode is hosted by Kelvyn Quagraine and organised by football media company Copa90 with the Royal Foundation.
During their conversation, the prince, a keen Aston Villa fan, highlights the work of Shout, the free and confidential 24/7 text messaging service for people struggling with their mental health.
He said: “You learn by playing a number of times and many other things in life that disappointment is part of life and how you handle it is crucial.
“Handling some of those really disappointing England results in the past, that was hard, I found that really difficult, because again the same euphoria that we had comes crashing down.
“You feel high and all together, and then normal life just gets on again.”
The prince added that he has a “lot of friends” he met through playing football in his youth.
“Some of the greatest friendships are born from playing games and being pushed together in slight adversity,” he said.
Spurs striker Kane remembered his father giving him £5 ($5.68) after he scored his first goal when he was 5 years old, and spoke about the Harry Kane Foundation, which has partnered with Shout.
The England captain said: “I’ve just launched a foundation which is really exciting for me.
“My aim is to, especially to the younger generation, talk to them and try and provide ways of talking about mental health and wellbeing.
“The more we talk about it, and open up, it will definitely help solve and hopefully encourage people not to be afraid to ask for help, especially when you are feeling a little bit lower.”
West Ham captain Rice said that as a child he loved playing football with his older brothers, and explained how England’s loss in the Euros final last year brought the squad closer together.
Speaking about the final against Italy, the England midfielder said: “There was a special moment after that game, the togetherness when we all come in a huddle after we’d lost that, and Gareth said some really important words.
Prince William through the years – in pictures
-
1982: A 6-month old Prince William with his mother Princess Diana at Kensington Palace in London. Prince William is celebrating his 40th birthday in 2022. Here 'The National' looks back at each of the years of his life. AP Photo -
1983: Prince Charles and Princess Diana with their son Prince William. Getty Images -
1984: Prince William leaves the Lindo Wing of St Mary's Hospital in London holding the hand of his nanny Barbara Barnes, having visiting his mother Princess Diana, after the birth of his brother Prince Harry. Getty Images -
1985: Prince Charles and Prince William on the royal yacht 'Britannia' during a visit to Venice, Italy. Getty Images -
1986: Prince William wearing the uniform of the Parachute Regiment of the British Army in the garden of Highgrove House in Doughton, Gloucestershire. Getty Images -
1987: Prince William holding the hand of Princess Diana on his arrival for the first day at his new school, Wetherby School, in London. AP Photo -
1988: Prince William with Princess Diana at Guards Polo Club. Getty Images -
1989: Prince Charles and Princess Diana and their sons, Princes William and Harry begin a cycle ride around the island of Tresco, one of the Scilly Isles. AP Photo -
1990: Princess Diana and Prince William during a holiday on Necker Island in the British Virgin Islands. Getty Images -
1991: Prince William shakes hands with royal fans during a visit to St. James Cathedral in Toronto, Canada. AP Photo -
1992: Prince William go-karting at Buckmore Park 'Playscape' in Chatham, England. Getty Images -
1993: Princess Diana with Prince William and Prince Harry passing the Hotel Arlberg during an afternoon carriage ride, on a ski holiday in Lech, Austria. Getty Images -
1994: Prince William and Princess Diana applaud the Wimbledon Ladies' Tennis Championship presentations after the final. AP Photo -
1995: Prince William attends his first day at Eton College, with Princess Diana, Prince Harry, and Prince Charles. Getty Images -
1996: Prince William smiling outside Clarence House on his great grandmother's birthday. Getty Images -
1997: Prince William walks with head bowed behind the coffin of his mother Princess Diana, on its way to London's Westminster Abbey for her funeral ceremony. AP Photo -
1998: Prince William and Prince Charles meet the public after the Christmas Day church service at Sandringham. Getty Images -
1999: Prince William gets out of his new Ford Focus car while learning to drive at Highgrove, Gloucestershire. Getty Images -
2000: Prince William carries a log used to construct walkways to link buildings during his Raleigh International expedition in the village of Tortel, Southern Chile. Getty Images -
2001: Prince William, Prince Harry and Prince Charles appear with the Queen Mother during celebrations to mark her 101st birthday in London. Getty Images -
2002: Prince Charles and his sons William and Harry in the Swiss village of Klosters at the start of his annual skiing holiday in the Alps. Getty Images -
2003: Prince William poses on the pier at St Andrews, where he attended university, in Scotland. Getty Images -
2004: Prince William participates in the annual Army v Navy match for the Rundle Cup at Tidworth Polo Club in Wiltshire. Getty Images -
2005: Prince William, second left back row, poses with the royal family at Windsor Castle after Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall's wedding ceremony. Getty Images -
2006: Prince William smiles at the passing-out Sovereign's Parade at Sandhurst Military Academy. Getty Images -
2007: Prince William and Prince Harry celebrate a try that was to be disallowed during the 2007 Rugby World Cup Final between England and South Africa in Saint-Denis, France. Getty Images -
2008: Prince William walks across the airfield at RAF Cranwell, Lincolnshire. AP Photo -
2009: Prince William is shown how to extract DNA from a mosquito by Dr Yvonne Linton, on a visit to open the Darwin Centre at the Natural History Museum, London. Getty Images -
2010: Prince William and his fiancee Kate Middleton pose for the media at St. James's Palace in London after they announced their engagement. AP Photo -
2011: Prince William exchanges rings with his bride Kate Middleton at their wedding in Westminster Abbey, London. Getty Images -
2012: Prince William and his wife Kate celebrate at the Velodrome during the London 2012 Olympic Games. Getty Images -
2013: The Duchess of Cambridge and Prince William depart the Lindo Wing with their newborn son Prince George at St Mary's Hospital in London. Getty Images -
2014: Prince William and Kate meet a koala at Taronga Zoo in Sydney. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge were on a three-week tour of Australia and New Zealand. Getty Images -
2015: Prince William and Kate arrive with their son Prince George for the christening of their daughter Princess Charlotte at the Church of St Mary Magdalene on the Sandringham estate. Getty Images -
2016: Prince William alongside Queen Elizabeth on the balcony of Buckingham Palace during the Trooping the Colour, this year marking the Queen's 90th birthday. Getty Images -
2017: Prince William and Prince Harry during a visit to The Sunken Garden at Kensington Palace. The garden had been transformed into a White Garden dedicated to the memory of Princess Diana. Getty Images -
2018: Prince William looks on as Meghan Markle sits in George's Chapel, Windsor Castle, for her wedding to Prince Harry. Getty Images -
2019: Prince William and Kate visit a settlement of the Kalash people, to learn more about their culture and unique heritage, in Chitral, Pakistan. Getty Images -
2020: Prince William and his wife Kate at the Shire Hall Care Home in Wales, where they spoke to some of the home's staff, residents and their family members during the coronavirus pandemic. Getty Images -
2021: Prince William and Prince Harry unveil a statue they commissioned of their mother Princess Diana, in the Sunken Garden at Kensington Palace, on what would have been her 60th birthday. Getty Images -
2022: Prince William onstage during the Platinum Party at the Palace in front of Buckingham Palace, during the jubilee celebrations for Queen Elizabeth II. Getty Images
“As a group, I think that brought us forward together because then we had to qualify for a World Cup in the next round of games.
“We really overcame that setback of losing that final, showed our togetherness and our strength, and I feel that we are in a really good place as a national team that we can keep pushing and getting better because the togetherness we’ve built is really special to be a part of.”
Ed Groves, managing editor at Copa90, said he hoped their conversation would remind people of “the power of talking when dealing with their mental health”.
“As football fans we can experience every emotion possible within 90 minutes,” he said.
“But while we all crave basking in collective glory, we need to remember to support each other through the harder moments – in football and in life.”
Mr Groves encouraged fans to come together to watch Qatar 2022 matches.
