Prince William melted hearts today after he was smothered with hugs from schoolchildren during a solo outing in Willenhall, West Midlands.
The Prince of Wales, as patron of the Football Association, visited Sporting Khalsa FC to hear about its referee training course.
But before the royal could start his visit, we went on an impromptu walkabout as several people heard about his visit and had gathered to see him, including pupils from Fibbersley Park Primary Academy.
The future King was snapped chatting and greeting the young children one by one as they chanted “Prince William” excitedly at the sight of him.
But his hugs with some of the schoolchildren went viral on social media, as royal fans praised him for his demeanour and noted how similar he behaved to his late mother, the Princess of Wales, who was widely known as the “People’s Princess”.
One user wrote on X: “Prince William is the only people’s prince, and you can’t convince me otherwise. [star-eyed emoji]”
Another person agreed: “Wow, Prince William is such a rock star! The only people’s prince.”
A third one said: “This is the William we love the most. Just like Diana. Prince of Hearts.”
A fourth one commented: “William getting smothered with hugs from these small kiddos is the best thing ever.
“He really shines during walkabouts, whether it is with kids, young adults or old people.”
While a fifth one said: “Prince William in his rock star era!”
A sixth one chimed: ” Oh Prince William has gotten his groove back and we cannot stop staring.”
During today’s visit, William joined a course lesson to learn about the key skills involved in refereeing.
He also showed off his refereeing skills on the pitch during a mini-football game alongside other programme participants.
Today’s visit was part of the FA’s Reflective and Representative campaign, which aims to recruit 1,000 people from Black, Asian and Mixed Heritage backgrounds into refereeing roles.