William’s shrewd plan to swerve World Cup and avoid combustible Trump

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Prince William looks set to avoid a potential diplomatic headache by staying away from this summer’s World Cup until at least the final.

The i Paper understands the football-loving Prince of Wales is not expected to attend the tournament being played across the United States, Canada and Mexico unless England – or Scotland – make it to the final in New York on 19 July.

Last year, it had been widely reported that William was expected to coincide a trip to cheer on the Three Lions with America’s Independence Day celebrations on 4 July.

Shorts

NEWS

Iran-US peace talks cancelled

Peace talks between the US⁠ ⁠and ​Iran in Switzerland that were due to take place today have been called off. The cancellation came as Israel and Iran-backed Hezbollah traded their most violent strikes since the ceasefire was established.

The negotiations were set to begin just two days after the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) that opened a 60-day window to secure an agreement over Iran’s nuclear programme, while getting oil traffic moving through the Strait of Hormuz.

Fresh wave of attacks

The fresh wave of attacks on late Thursday saw Hezbollah target Israeli forces near the city of Nabatieh, south Lebanon, with several salvoes of rocket fire late on Thursday.

Israel retaliated with airstrikes on the city and surrounding towns, leaving at least 16 dead and 33 wounded, according to Lebanon’s ministry of health.

Analysis

Trump has boxed himself in. Israel and Iran are taking advantage

White House response

The logistics of these negotiations have never been simple or predictable. As of now the vice-president is not departing tonight.

The White House said the US looked forward to “beginning technical talks as soon as possible”.

The cancellation came so abruptly that JD Vance’s staff had gathered in anticipation of the trip.

Iran reservations

Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Mojtaba Khamenei said on Thursday that he had approved the MOU despite reservations.

Prior to the cancellation, Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency said negotiators needed ⁠to see signs of the US acting on its interim agreement before the next round of peace talks could begin.

The cancellation came after reports Tehran was delaying sending its delegation to Geneva, due to Israel’s ongoing military campaign in Lebanon.

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Israel’s stance

Israel was not included in the peace talks and has distanced itself from the US-Iran agreement.

The MOU calls for the “permanent termination” of the war in Lebanon and for the country’s “territorial integrity and sovereignty” to be ensured.

The Knesset has so far insisted it will not pull out its troops from south Lebanon.

NEWS

Amber heat health alerts in place – here’s where

With a heatwave set to develop in the coming days, amber heat health alerts have been placed across southern and eastern England.

Temperatures are set to climb above 30°C on Friday, possibly up to 32°C in south-east England. By Tuesday, it could creep up to 34°C – or higher.

Amber heat health alerts

An amber heat health alert is issued when high temperatures are likely to have a significant impact on health services.

It suggests there is likely to be an increase in deaths, especially among those aged over 65 or with long-term health conditions.

A closer look at the forecast

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has placed the east, south-east and south-west of England under an amber alert until 8pm on Tuesday.

Amber alerts, where impacts are likely to be felt across the whole health service, are valid across the Midlands during the same period.

Across East Anglia and south-east England on Friday, temperatures are expected to rise to the mid to high-twenties.

Around Greater London, it could be as hot as 32°C on Friday afternoon.

Computer weather models suggest the heat is likely to continue through next week, especially in the south.

There is a small possibility we’ll get close to the UK’s highest June temperature of 35.6°C, set in 1976.

MONEY

The 10 best and worst cities for house price growth

The 10 best and worst cities for house price growth have been revealed – and there is a stark divide between the North and South of England, new data suggests.

Colleen Babcock, a property expert at Rightmove, said: “Areas with lower starting price points have had more room for growth, which has contributed to a widening North-South divide.”

Stand-out figures

Manchester came out on top, with the average asking price for a home rising by around £100,000 (or 63.3 per cent) to £261,891 over the past decade.

Asking prices in the Manchester areas of Levenshulme, Atherton, Droylsden and Failsworth grew by roughly 80 per cent on average.

London, where the average asking price stands at £687,080, climbed by just 7 per cent.

Oxford and Brighton grew by 13 per cent to £554,387 and £416,440.

PROPERTY AND MORTGAGES

What experts say will happen to house prices this year and in 2027

The fastest growth

Experts believe changes in work patterns have fuelled the shift.

Here are the average house prices in the cities with the fastest growth:

Manchester, £261,891

Wolverhampton, £229,094

Newport, £235,275

Nottingham, £210,238

Wakefield, £231,581

Salford, £226,559

Bradford, £171,282

Stoke-on-Trent, £174,850

Doncaster, £186,378

Swansea, £215,866

The slowest growth

No locations in the South of England made a list of the top 10 cities with the fastest rates of growth. Instead, many southern cities remain on the list with the slowest growth.

Here are the average house prices for locations in the slow lane:

London, £687,080

Oxford, £554,387

Brighton, £416,440

Winchester, £543,972

Cambridge, £512,872

St Albans, £657,627

Canterbury, £367,271

Chelmsford, £402,308

Colchester, £300,714

Dundee, £170,171

uk news

Why London Marathon will be expanded to two-day event

For the first time ever, the London Marathon will expand into a two-day event with men’s, women’s and elite events spread across the weekend.

A record 1.33 million people have already applied for the 2027 edition, following more than £90m raised for charity by participants in 2026.

What you need to know

Elite women, elite female para-athletes, championship and ‘good for age’ women will compete on one day, and their male equivalents on the other. The exact details for the one-off event are yet to be confirmed.

But those whose ballots are successfully drawn in July will be able to participate in person on 24 and 25 April, 2027.

Interview

I want to be the fastest intellectually disabled man to run the London Marathon

After a milestone 2026 event

Event organisers have earmarked two guaranteed entries for every school in the capital for teachers or staff. While extra guaranteed entries have also been allocated to every London borough along the route.

The 2026 event attracted a record 59,830 finishers, and was the site Sabastian Sawe’s world record one hour, 59 minutes and 30 seconds.

What Khan has said

This unique, one-off double will allow a record 100,000 participants to take part across the two days – creating the largest fundraising moment in UK sporting history and supporting the work of so many incredible charities.

London mayor Sadiq Khan

How much will be raised?

London Marathon Double is our most ambitious evolution to date.

London Marathon CEO Hugh Brasher has estimated that the expanded event could raise over £150m for charities, and £400m for the wider UK economy.

He said: “The 2027 TCS London Marathon Double is our most ambitious evolution to date.”

However, it now appears William will stay at home – as the war between the US and Iran casts a diplomatic shadow over the tournament and revelations have emerged about apparent royal unease over Trump’s actions on the global stage.

Kensington Palace declined to comment but the decision to stay away is in keeping with the pattern of recent international tournaments, where William has seemingly given a wide berth to competitions played against a backdrop of geopolitical sensitivities.

While the Prince, who is also the long-standing president of the Football Association, attended three England games during the Euro 2024 competition in Germany and group-stage games at the 2006 and 2010 World Cups – he did not make the journey to either of the two previous tournaments in Qatar and Russia.

In the case of the Qatar tournament held late in 2022, royal aides insisted the no-show was down to William’s busy winter schedule. But both tournaments were overshadowed by human rights concerns, in particular the Russia World Cup which came shortly after Moscow’s agents had deployed a nerve agent in an attempt to murder ex-spy Sergei Skripal in Salisbury in 2018.

Dr Ed Owens, a royal historian and commentator, said: “William is much like his father on this. He recognises that royal soft power is arguably the Windsors’s most uncontested role in modern life and the most important role they can play on behalf of Britain.”

William also did not attend the Women’s World Cup final in Sydney in 2023 – England’s first World Cup final appearance since 1966. Royal sources at the time cited it would have involved flying across the world for a very short period of time.

Potential for awkward meetings

As recently as six months ago, there was widespread anticipation that Palace planners were seeking to combine a visit to the World Cup by the Prince of Wales with an appearance at 4 July celebrations to commemorate 250 years since independence from Britain.

But appetite for such an encounter appears to have shifted. During that time the US, along with Israel, has launched a war on Iran which has seen it become the first World Cup host at war with a country participating in the tournament.

The i Paper revealed earlier this month that King Charles was privately reticent about hosting the US President on his visit to Britain last year in the wake of Trump’s infamous verbal tirade against Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in the Oval Office.

The King eventually agreed to the visit and in turn delivered what was regarded as a diplomatic tour de force during a royal tour of the US in April.

Experts said it is now more likely the Royal Household will have decided it did not want to risk diminishing the hard-won afterglow of that visit by pitching the Prince of Wales into a fresh round of glad-handing with a combustible Trump administration.

Owens added: “I think there will be a desire for a little bit of breathing space after the April visit and with geopolitical tensions like Iran still swirling. But I don’t think William would at all shy away from engaging with Trump as when it was deemed necessary.”

But while the calculations behind the Prince’s latest World Cup no-show are not being disclosed, it illustrates the central role played by the beautiful game in William’s efforts to overhaul his own image and that of the monarchy.

The Prince, who sent the Three Lions a good luck message prior to their 4-2 victory over Croatia in their opening World Cup 2026 fixture on Wednesday, has been a regular at England’s training set-up and the matchday dressing room over the years.

A senior former royal aide said: “His interest in football is authentic and heartfelt. The British public, and football fans in particular, know very quickly when someone isn’t being genuine. But with the Prince of Wales his enthusiasm and passion for football is absolutely real.”

Football has proved a useful conduit for William to provide a more relatable face to a monarchy deeply troubled by the crisis provoked by the arrest of Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and an ongoing debate about the cost and purpose of royal life.

Such is William’s ease with the intricacies of the game that when he conducted an interview with television pundits Ally McCoist and Rio Ferdinand ahead of his beloved Aston Villa’s Champions League clash with PSG last year, Ferdinand expressed concerns that the royal could put him out of a job.

The Prince is not the first royal to recognise the merits of showing an interest in football. George V became the first monarch to go to a game when he watched the 1914 FA Cup final and began the royal tradition of presenting the trophy.

Owens said: “I think William’s great-great-grandfather would be extremely pleased he is projecting his public image in this way. William has recognised the need to democratise the institution. This love of football is a powerful way to convey that message.”

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