Robert Page says a Wales bucket hat could convert England fan Prince William before World Cup showdown

Robert Page has suggested sending the Prince of Wales a bucket hat would win his support when Wales play England in the World Cup.

William has been president of the Football Association since May 2006 and regularly attends England matches.

But the newly-created Prince of Wales now has divided loyalties, with the two home nations drawn in the same World Cup group in Qatar.

Wales and England meet in Group B’s final fixture at Doha’s Ahmad bin Ali Stadium on November 29.

Asked if he could convert William into a Wales supporter in time for the World Cup, Wales manager Page replied: “Absolutely. Who’s he going to support?

“We’ll have to send him a bucket hat, eh?”

The bucket hat has become the must-have accessory for Wales fans over the past decade.

The yellow, green and red hats are worn in their thousands by the so-called ‘Red Wall’.

Players-turned-pundits Ashley Williams and Danny Gabbidon both wore bucket hats on television to celebrate Wales’ World Cup play-off final victory over Ukraine in June.

History

Charles III announced that he was making William and Kate the new Prince and Princess of Wales during his first speech as King on Friday.

The King said he was creating his son and heir, William, Prince of Wales adding: “With Catherine beside him, our new Prince and Princess of Wales will, I know, continue to inspire and lead our national conversations, helping to bring the marginal to the centre ground where vital help can be given.”

But a petition calling for the Royals to “end Prince of Wales title out of respect for Wales” surged to almost 25,000 signatures over the next few days.

The petition says that since the days of the Welsh Princes the title has been “held exclusively by Englishmen as a symbol of dominance over Wales”.

“The title remains an insult to Wales and is a symbol of historical oppression and also implies that Wales is still a principality, undermining Wales’ status as a nation and a country,” the petition’s author, Trystan Gruffydd, said.

The Royal title was originally given to Edward II of Caernarfon, son of Edward I who conquered Wales, as a means of confirming that the ‘Tywysog Cymru’ title previously held by native princes of Wales was subservient to that of the King of England.

Since then it has been held by 21 different heirs to the throne, although seven of them never became king.

There have previously been long periods of history, such as between 1553 with the accession of Edward Tudor and the passing of the title to Henry Frederick Stuart 63 years later, when the title did not exist at all.