Prince William Sends Message of Support to Favorite Soccer Team as He Mourns Queen Elizabeth

“It was along the lines of ‘would love to be there,'” Steven Gerrard, manager of Aston Villa Football Club revealed about the Prince’s message, which arrived ahead of the team’s game on Friday

Prince William is thinking of others while he mourns Queen Elizabeth II.

The Prince of Wales, 40, sent a message of support to his favorite English soccer team last week while preparing for the late monarch’s funeral on Monday, the team coach has revealed.

“He messaged in the week, to the club,” Steven Gerrard, manager of Aston Villa Football Club said Friday, reported the BBC.

“That shows everything about what he thinks of this club,” Gerrard added about William, who is a lifelong supporter of the team and frequently attends games at the club’s Villa Park stadium in Birmingham, England – with Kate Middleton, Prince George and Princess Charlotte sometimes joining him in the stands.

“It was along the lines of ‘would love to be there,'” continued Gerrard about the Prince’s message.

William’s message of support came ahead of Aston Villa’s Friday night game against Southampton, which they won 1-0. Before kick-off, the crowd observed a minute’s silence in honor of the Queen. All of the stadium floodlights were also turned off during the silence, apart from a single spotlight.

At the 70-minute mark of the game, supporters from both teams also broke into applause to honor the length of Elizabeth’s record-breaking reign.

“It certainly took me aback,” Gerrard added about William’s message, reported the BBC. “He is very much involved in Villa. For him to message in the situation he is in is really impressive.

“For us to reward that with a result and clean sheet, I’m sure he will be proud,” Gerrard continued.

“He is consistently in touch. He is very supportive of the boys individually. It’s really impressive, his knowledge and how much he is into it.”

All games of English professional soccer were canceled last weekend in response to the death of Queen Elizabeth in Scotland on Sept. 9. Games restarted Tuesday, with all clubs observing a minute of silence before kick-off.

Prince William is the president of England soccer’s governing body the Football Association.

In July the Prince attended the showpiece final of the Women’s EURO 22 event at London’s Wembley Stadium to watch the England women’s soccer team – nicknamed “the Lionesses” – beat Germany 2-1, cheered on by a crowd of 87,000 fans.

The previous month William also told the Lionesses that Princess Charlotte is a “budding star” in soccer during a pre-tournament training session.

“Charlotte wanted me to tell you that she is really good at goal,” William said, according to Hello! “She said, ‘Please tell them that.'”