Prince William got an unexpected kiss on the cheek from an English soccer legend during a royal visit.
Paul Gascoigne, known in Britain as Gazza, embraced the future king as he visited a Pret a Manger cafe in the seaside town of Bournemouth as part of a project to end homelessness on September 7.
Gascoigne was a star of England's national team in the 1990s whose private life and struggles with alcoholism were also extensively covered in the tabloid press. Prince William is himself a soccer fan and president of English football's governing body, the Football Association (FA).
Gazza told William that he lived in nearby Sandbanks, Dorset. The pair chatted for a moment before the sports hero shook the royal's hand, leaned in, and gave him a friendly kiss on the cheek. The surprising moment was caught on camera and made William chuckle before he was called away to interact with others at the restaurant.
This is not the first time Gazza has been unexpectedly familiar with a royal after he famously kissed William's mother, Princess Diana's hand before the 1991 FA Cup Final.
He's also no stranger to turning up unexpectedly in the middle of a news story. In 2010, Gazza turned up in his dressing gown to a police siege involving a man called Raoul Moat, who he vaguely knew.
Moat, a night club bouncer, shot and wounded ex-girlfriend Sam Stobbart and killed her new boyfriend, Chris Brown before going on the run. He also shot and blinded a police officer, PC David Rathband.
Gascoigne arrived at the police cordon with chicken, lager and a fishing rod intent on talking around the fugitive, who was still armed with a sawn off shotgun.
Prince William is in Bournemouth to meet businesses supporting his @HomewardsUK programme. He is spotlighting the role that the business sector can play in preventing and tackling homelessness.
— Rebecca English (@RE_DailyMail) September 7, 2023
At a Pret A Manger store he met @StevenBartlett -and local resident Gazza popped in! pic.twitter.com/IcQhsslRYV
William's visit to the Pret location was part of his Homewards project, which aims to end homelessness. Pret, a popular British chain, has joined William's project and pledged to expand its own efforts to get homeless people back to work in its cafes across the country.
Amanda Berry, chief executive of The Royal Foundation, William and Kate Middleton's charity, said: "Pret's commitment to expanding its Rising Stars programme is an exciting moment for Homewards. This, alongside the other commitments being made today, demonstrates the powerful role businesses can and must play if we are to make an impact in this space.
"We are excited to see how today's announcements inspire action across our Homewards locations and beyond over the next five years."
Jack Royston is chief royal correspondent for Newsweek, based in London. You can find him on Twitter at @jack_royston and read his stories on Newsweek's The Royals Facebook page.
Do you have a question about King Charles III, William and Kate, Meghan and Harry, or their family that you would like our experienced royal correspondents to answer? Email royals@newsweek.com. We'd love to hear from you.
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Jack Royston is Newsweek's Chief Royal Correspondent based in London, U.K. He reports on the British royal family—including King Charles ... Read more
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