Prince William skipped a meeting because he was enjoying a few beers with Peter Crouch
Prince William missed an appointment he was due to attend because he was enjoying recording a podcast with former footballer Peter Crouch, it has emerged.
Radio One host Chris Stark, who is part of the That Peter Crouch podcast, revealed that during the filming and recording at Kensington Palace back in March, William was told by one of the staff that he had to go onto another appointment.
The podcast team thought they were getting 45 minutes with the prince, but ended up spending hours with him after he told the staff member that the meeting could be delayed.
Stark said: “We ended up having a few beers and after about an hour, this lady said to him ‘sir, your next appointment’ and he just turned around and was like ‘I think we can delay that’.
“So God knows what that was. We did another hour. We just carried on - it was mad. Had a few beers, a proper chat.”
Stark admitted he got the dress code wrong, and was too casual when he went to meet the prince.
Listeners suggested William, 38, might have been told of another appointment as a ‘code’ to give him a way to get out of the meeting if he was not enjoying himself.
But former press secretary to the Queen, Dickie Arbiter, said this was unlikely, adding that William was “comfortable” and as he was talking about mental health, probably wanted to dedicate as much time as possible to it.
William, 38, ran a campaign called Heads Up during the 2019/20 football season, and travelled around the country for a documentary about how clubs could support their players.
The delayed FA Cup Final was renamed the Heads Up FA Cup final in a mark of support for the mental health campaign.
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In the podcast, William revealed he once bought Kate a pair of binoculars as a present, and said “she’s never let me forget that”.
The Aston Villa fan said football had become more important to him since becoming a father, and said: “Since being a dad, without a doubt, football has become way more important to me than ever used to, it’s really weird. Like it’s changed a lot.
“I need to go and be amongst other guys and kind of let out a bit of steam, shout a bit. Not abuse the referee – because I’m the president of the FA and I can’t do that – but in my head I am.”
William offered the group curry ordered from Crouch’s local Indian in Ealing, west London, and they all drank Guinness and lager through the recording.
On his Heads Up campaign, the duke said: “We all have mental health, and we all have to stay mentally fit.
“It’s a strength to talk about your mental health, it’s not a weakness. You know, if you’re not feeling well, something’s bothering you, talk about it – it’s not a problem.”
William also hosted a socially distanced party in the grounds of Sandringham to watch the final on 1 August.
