Prince William to attend Euro 2024 final in Berlin

The Prince of Wales will attend the Euro 2024 final in Berlin on Sunday to watch England play Spain, Kensington Palace has confirmed.

He will be joined by Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer as the England men's team aim to secure their first major trophy in 58 years.

Prince William is president of the Football Association (FA), and attended England's victory over Switzerland in the quarter-final and the group stage match against Denmark.

After the semi-final win over the Netherlands on Wednesday, Aston Villa fan Prince William congratulated the team in a post on X, saying: "What a beauty, Ollie!"

Substitute Ollie Watkins secured victory with a last-minute strike which spared England from entering extra time.

The prince's father the King also congratulated the Three Lions on their victory in the semi-final and sent his "best wishes" for the match on Sunday.

He added: "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!"

The Prince of Wales took his eldest son Prince George to the final of the delayed Euros in 2021 at Wembley, when England lost on penalties to Italy.

Prince William attended the Lionesses win against Germany in the Women's Euro 2022 and awarded the players their medals.

Earlier in the tournament, the prince described the win against Slovakia as an "emotional rollercoaster" and the victory against Switzerland as "nail-biting to the very end".

Ollie Watkins scored the winning goal in the semi-final against the Netherlands

The men's team has not won a major tournament since the World Cup in 1966 and has never won the European Championship.

Thousands of England fans are expected to be in Berlin on Sunday, with the match at the Olympiastadion kicking off at 20:00 BST.

Asked about a potential bank holiday if England win, Sir Keir said "we should certainly mark the occasion" but stopped short of confirming a day off for the country, saying he did not want to "jinx it".

Some businesses have already said they will be making changes to their opening times on Sunday and Monday because of the match.

Sainsbury's has said its local shops and petrol stations in England will close early at 19:30 BST, and Lidl said it will open its stores an hour later on Monday.

Before the semi-final win on Wednesday, Tesco said it would close 1,800 of its Express stores early at 19:30 BST on Sunday if England made it to the final.

A surge in beer, burger, and pizza sales is expected, and pubs and shops are competing for customers who will watch the match either at home or at a bar.

Music festival Wireless has announced it will end early at 19:00 BST on Sunday to give fans "plenty of time to travel home" to watch the game.