Michael Sheen has slammed Prince William for his "entirely inappropriate" gesture of meeting with the England football team ahead of the World Cup.

The Prince of Wales, who was awarded the title as his father King Charles ascended the throne in September, has insisted that he will be cheering on both the English and Welsh teams during the international tournament.

Prince William visited the England team for a "special send-off" where he presented the squad with shirts before they flew to Qatar.

In the post, Mr Sheen commented: "He can, of course, support whoever he likes and as Pres of FA his role makes visit understandable - but surely he sees holding the title Prince of Wales at same time is entirely inappropriate? Not a shred of embarrassment? Or sensitivity to the problem here?"

Prince William defends England team 'special send-off' after criticism 

Prince William has addressed the controversy around his support for the England football team in the World Cup.

While visiting the Welsh Parliament, the Prince of Wales insisted he would be cheering on both teams but could not "suddenly" drop his support for the England team.

The Prince told Elin Jones, Llywydd of the Senedd, that he has supported England since he was young.

William added: “I’m telling everyone I’m supporting both, definitely. I can’t lose.

“I’ve supported England since I’ve been quite small, but I support Welsh rugby and that’s my kind of way of doing it. I happily support Wales over England in the rugby.

“I’ve got to be able to play carefully with my affiliations because I worry otherwise if I suddenly drop England to support Wales then that doesn’t look right for the sport either. So I can’t do that.”

The presiding officer of the Welsh parliament, Ms Jones, simply replied: “We can agree to disagree.”

The Royal went on to describe Wales being in the World Cup as a “big deal”.

The Prince continued: “An England v Wales World Cup final would be the best wouldn’t it, that would be really good.

“I’m making sure I’m out there supporting Wales through all the process because I know this is a big deal for Wales.

“When I was growing up, Wales didn’t get through to the tournaments so I had to make a choice.”

Ms Jones, a football fan, also told William that she would not be travelling to Qatar and described the fact the tournament is being held there as “tragic” and “a shame” that not more people can enjoy it.

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She went on to describe watching Wales beating Belgium 3-2 at the Euros in 2016.

William replied: “We will have the Rugby World Cup in France next year, that will be a big deal.”

Prince William met with politicians across the four parties in his first visit to the Senedd.

Speaking to the Senedd’s chief executive, Manon Antoniazzi, the Prince explained that it was “good to be back” in Wales following a busy period.

It’s been busy but things are settling down now and I’m just now trying to figure everything out,” William added.

Ms Jones gave William a tour of the building and described how it is one of the only parliaments that continue to use a hybrid system for remote working.

As he joked about connection issues, the Prince replied that he also continues to have meetings online. 

Times and Star: The Prince of Wales meets with members of the Welsh Youth Parliament during a visit to the Senedd in Cardiff (PA)The Prince of Wales meets with members of the Welsh Youth Parliament during a visit to the Senedd in Cardiff (PA) (Image: PA)

The Prince later told Ms Jones that he has a few Welsh phrases that he uses, including ‘Bore da’.

He also said: “Dwi ddim by galli siarad gymraeg”, which means “I can’t speak Welsh”.

William, who had a number of private meetings during the visit, was expected to reiterate that there are no plans for any formal investiture ceremony.

The Prince concluded his visit by meeting with the Welsh Youth Parliament to hear about issues affecting the younger generation.