World Cup: Fans criticise Prince of Wales' 'special send off' for England squad

The Prince of Wales, who is also the President of the Football Association, met with the squad before they left for Qatar Credit: England FA

A meeting between the Prince of Wales and the England squad where they were given a "special send off" ahead of their trip to Qatar has been criticised by Welsh fans.

The prince, who took over the role from his father following the Queen's death, joined a private meeting at the team’s Staffordshire training ground on Monday evening.

Wales and England are in the same group for the tournament and are due to face each other on 29 November.

A video shared on Twitter showed him presenting the players, including captain Harry Kane, Bukayo Saka and James Maddison, with their shirts.

After the presentation, he told the team the "whole country" is behind them.

"We are all rooting for you. Enjoy it", he said.

One Twitter user said, "The Prince of our country has visited our group opponents to wish them well. Superb."

Another said, "Make it make sense".

A spokesperson from Kensington Palace told ITV News that the prince is "extremely proud" of Wales' achievements and too wishes the team well as they head out to Qatar.

Other responses include a photograph of Gareth Bale with the caption, "This is the Prince of Wales".

Another said, "One hopes he will do something to support Wales too considering he is our Prince!".

Actor Callum Scott-Howells also responded and said, "The ‘prince of wales’ lmao".

Wales are heading to the World Cup for the first time in 64 years on Tuesday and are playing their first group game against the USA on 21 November.

Schoolchildren watched as the Wales team took part in their final training session

They took part in a final training session on Tuesday morning as schoolchildren watched on.

During the team's last press conference before departing, Gareth Bale said his side wants to shine a light on some of the 'problems' that exist in Qatar.

Bale vowed to wear the OneLove armband, to show support to groups that face discrimination, including members of the LGBTQ+ community.

During the press conference Bale also discussed his own fitness levels, describing himself as "hundred percent fit, ready to go, simple."

"I'm praying not to have an injury because this is such a big occasion."

When asked if he can play three 90 minute matches in eight days Bale said, "yeah no problem."