Prince William meets new England boss Thomas Tuchel for first time and 'spoke for an hour'

Prince William has met with the new England manager, Thomas Tuchel, for the first time ahead of his inaugural matches as the Three Lions' boss.

Tuchel officially assumed the role at the start of the year, succeeding Sir Gareth Southgate who stepped down after Euro 2024 last summer.

His first match in charge will be against Albania next month. The Duke of Cambridge, who is Patron of the Football Association, welcomed Tuchel and Mark Bullingham, the CEO of the FA, to Windsor Castle.

A photo shared on social media showed the Prince shaking hands with the new England manager, captioned: "Great to meet new @England men's manager Thomas Tuchel for the first time today, and hear about plans for the team", accompanied by a strong arm emoji.

The Mirror claim that their meeting lasted over an hour, during which Tuchel shared his views on the team and his aspirations for the future.

A Royal insider revealed that they also discussed Aston Villa's ongoing Champions League campaign. Tuchel, a German national, has been given the responsibility of leading England to victory in the 2026 World Cup.

The Three Lions will face Albania, Latvia, Andorra and Serbia in the qualifiers. Despite not having another top-tier team in their group, Tuchel has warned that qualifying for the World Cup will not be a walk in the park, with Albania being their first opponent at Wembley on March 21.

"It's a difficult group," admitted ex-Chelsea manager Tuchel. "Serbia and Albania have some good individual players, top coaches and some very famous ex-players, so it will be very tough. We'll have to be very respectful of that.

"We have to be at our top level to make it to the World Cup – it's the most important task at the moment to not get distracted. We also don't want to get distracted by the role of favourites."

Following his trip to Windsor Castle, Tuchel's comments come in the wake of Prince William's heartfelt tribute to former England boss Southgate, who stepped down last July shortly after England's defeat to Spain in the Euro 2024 final.

Prince William took to social media to express his gratitude, stating: "Gareth, I want to thank you - not as the President of the @FA, but as an @England fan. Thank you for creating a team that stands shoulder to shoulder with the world's finest in 2024.

"Thank you for showing humility, compassion, and true leadership under the most intense pressure and scrutiny.

"And thank you for being an all-round class act. You should be incredibly proud of what you've achieved. W."

Additionally, the Prince of Wales posted a charming photo of himself sharing a laugh with Southgate during a past visit to the England training camp.

Southgate announced his resignation as manager of the England football team, proclaiming the start of a "new chapter" for the squad. "As a proud Englishman, it has been the honour of my life to play for England and to manage England. It has meant everything to me and I have given it my all," he stated in a release.

This article first appeared on The Mirror.