King leads England celebrations with cheeky message ahead of Euro final

The King has issued a personal message to the England men’s football team– urging them to avoid any last minute drama in the final.

In a personal message to the Three Lions following their sensational 2-1 win against the Netherlands last night, Charles sent the players the royal family’s ‘very best wishes’ and ‘warmest congratulations’.

But the King also quipped about the recent drama endured by England fans, including a last-gasp equaliser in the second round against Slovakia and a penalty triumph against Switzerland in the quarter-final, asking them to watch out for the nation’s blood pressure in the final clash with Spain. 

He said: ‘My wife and I join all our family in wishing you the warmest congratulations on reaching the final of the U.E.F.A. European Championship – and in sending our very best wishes for Sunday’s match.

‘If I may encourage you to secure victory before the need for any last minute wonder-goals or another penalties drama, I am sure the stresses on the nation’s collective heart rate and blood pressure would be greatly alleviated!

‘Good luck, England.’

It comes after more drama in the semi-final after Aston Villa striker Ollie Watkins scored a 90th-minute winner to send them through.

The Three Lions fell behind after seven minutes to a Xavi Simons strike but a controversial Harry Kane penalty, awarded by VAR, brought the scores level 10 minutes later.

The Prince of Wales, who is a Villa fan, also congratulated England and singled out Watkins for praise in a message on social media.

He said: ‘What a beauty, Ollie! Congratulations England! #EURO2024 Finalists.’

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, who was able to watch some of the game while attending a Nato summit in Washington DC, has confirmed he will attend Sunday’s final in Berlin.

Is football coming home?

Keir Starmer: “It looks like it!”

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— Aubrey Allegretti (@breeallegretti) July 10, 2024

In a post on X, he said: ‘What a game @England and what a winner. Berlin here we come!’

The Prime Minister also suggested football was ‘coming home’ following the win.

At an Oval Office meeting with US President Joe Biden, Sir Keir was asked if football was coming home, and said: ‘It looks like it.’ 

‘It’s because of the Prime Minister,’ Mr Biden replied.

It is understood William, who is president of the Football Association, is also likely to travel to Berlin for the final on Sunday.

Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey has called on the government to issue a bank holidayif England win on Sunday.

The party leader tweeted: ‘The Three Lions are playing their first ever final on foreign soil, and if they bring it home, the Government should bring home a bank holiday to celebrate.

Well @LoyleCarner said this… pic.twitter.com/7eUSvv6z2I

— Thomo (@andy_thomo) July 10, 2024

‘England deserves the chance to celebrate a once-in-a-generation event.

‘Who knows, we might even get decent weather.’

Elsewhere throughout the nation, The Killers stunned fans by pausing their gig at the O2 Arena in Wembley in order to let fans watch the final whistle blow, before setting off confetti cannons and launching into a show-stopping rendition of Mr Brightside.

‘Tonight we played for England,’ the band tweeted after the show, capping off a stunt which has already been labelled ‘peak British culture’.

Rapper Loyle Carner also ended his set at Manchester’s Castlefield Bowl on Wednesday night by having a sing-a-long with the crowd to ‘It’s Coming Home.’

Footage from the event shows Loyle Carner rousing the crowd to join him in the chorus of England’s victory song.

Meanwhile, stand-up comic John Bishop, who is currently touring the country, said he will be moving his Wolverhampton gig on Sunday to an afternoon slot in order to watch the game.

In a video posted to X, formerly Twitter, he said: ‘This is a message to all the people coming to Wolverhampton on Sunday.

Regarding my show on Sunday evening……. ????????????????????????????⚽️ #itscominghome pic.twitter.com/zSofZ8dEmH

— John Bishop (@JohnBishop100) July 10, 2024

‘I’m not doing the show at 8 o’clock, the show’s going to get moved to the afternoon.

‘You’re all going to get an email in the morning telling you the time.

‘I know it won’t suit everybody, so anyone who can’t make it we’ll give you a refund.

‘But we’re definitely going to move the time to Sunday afternoon cause there’s no chance I’m going to be doing it at 8 o’clock cause I’m going to be busy watching these boys (the England team).’

Tens of thousands of supporters are expected to be in Berlin for the final against Spain on Sunday, with British Airways saying it hopes to put on additonal flights and use larger aircraft following a surge in demand.

All of Ryanair’s 21 flights from UK airports to Berlin between Thursday and the final are sold out.

EasyJet’s 12 flights to Berlin from Birmingham, Bristol, Luton and Gatwick between Friday and the match are also fully booked.

The airline was charging £918 for a seat on a flight from Gatwick to the German capital on Thursday night – compared with £167 a week later – but that service was later sold out.

In an emotional press conference following the match, England boss Gareth Southgate said the squad ‘wanted to be loved’ and thanked fans who shelled out to watch the team.

‘We all want to be loved, right?,’ said Southgate after Ollie Watkin’s 91st minute winner. ‘So when you’re doing something for your country and you’re a proud Englishman, when you don’t feel that back and when all you read is criticism, it’s hard.  

‘To be able to celebrate a second final is very, very special. Especially with fans that travel, our travelling support is amazing. 

‘The amount of money they spend to travel, the commitment to do that, to be able to give them nights like this. I think we’ve given them a few over the last six years, from Russia onwards. It means a lot.’

Elizabeth Baker