No football ties allowed as Prince William visits Frankfurt

By Rolf Schraa Jun 9, 2006, 14:17 GMT

Frankfurt - Prince William, the second in line to the British throne, arrives in Frankfurt Saturday to attend England's opening World Cup match against Paraguay in what must, for him, be one of his more pleasant official duties.

The 23-year-old prince is travelling in his capacity as honorary president of the English Football Association (FA) and is expected to bring a bit of royal pomp and ceremony to the capital of the federal state of Hesse, with which his family has many historic ties.

In the 19th century, Prince William's great great grandmother, the then Princess Victoria, married Prince Friedrich Wilhelm of Prussia, while their daughter Margaret ended up betrothed to Prince Friedrich of Hesse, the brother-in-law of the German Emperor Wilhelm II.

But it's not for nostalgic reasons or to dig up long lost cousins that Prince William is making the short trip to Germany's financial centre rather England's World Cup debut.

The young royal will travel in a motorcade to the stadium where he will watch the match before heading off for an official welcome reception thrown by Hesse federal state president Roland Koch at the riding complex of Germany's Olympic dressage champion Ann-Kathrin Linsenhoff in Kronberg, north of Frankfurt.

As well as the official welcome, the prince, Koch and Linsenhoff will take trip around the stables and will also look at the successful stud farm. The event will conclude with a 'sportingly elegant summer's welcome,' says Dieter Beine, the man in charge of protocol.

'Very informal - light suits for the men and summer outfits, hats optional, for the ladies. Conversation is the highlight,' explained Beine, who, perhaps knowing something about Frankfurt's glitterati that has yet to come to the general public's attention, has stipulated that ties with football logos won't be tolerated.

In an effort to maintain Prince William's interest in proceedings, around 100 English-speaking students from international schools in the region have also been invited. Although if England suffer a shock defeat against the South Americans, even they might find this an insurmountable challenge.

Before the trip to Kronberg, FIFA president Joseph Blatter is expected to give the prince a taste of what goes on behind the scenes ahead of a big World Cup match.

'Security, volunteers, spectator management - that's what he is interested in as head of the FA,' said Beine, apparently convinced Prince William stays awake at night fretting over such matters rather than thinking up new ways to impress girlfriend Kate Middleton.