Royal Fans Have the Funniest Reactions to Prince William's Shock Selfie at the FA Cup Final

"Prince William's face when he realized what was happening..."

Prince William, Prince of Wales looks during the Emirates FA Cup Final match between Chelsea and Manchester City on May 16, 2026 in London, England
(Image credit: Justin Setterfield/Getty Images/Instagram/@rayan_cherki)

Princess Kate has just returned from her solo visit to Italy, but Prince William seemingly couldn't miss the FA Cup final between Manchester City and Chelsea soccer clubs on Saturday, May 16.

As patron of the Football Association, Prince William regularly attends important soccer matches, and also hands out trophies to the winners. While attending the game at Wembley Stadium in London, the Prince of Wales surprised fans when he was included in a shock selfie taken by soccer player Rayan Cherki.

Video footage shared by @City_Xtra revealed the moment Manchester City player Cherki pulled out his phone and quickly snapped a selfie with Prince William. The soccer star shared the unexpected photo on Instagram. Before long, the picture was circulated widely online, which led to a plethora of comments and reactions from Royal Family fans.

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Prince William takes an unexpected selfie with a soccer player after the FA Cup Final.

Rayan Cherki snapped a selfie with Prince William.

(Image credit: Instagram/@rayan_cherki)

"They thought it was AI," one person joked about the impromptu snap. Someone else commented, "Hilarious royal moment."

An additional X user said, "Prince William just went full selfie mode!" The post continued, "Rayan Cherki perfectly captured the moment...When the FA Cup final is this legendary."

Another commenter shared, "Securing the trophy and immediately running up to the future King for a quick pic is preposterous...Most players are completely lost in the celebrations, but Rayan Cherki had his priorities absolutely locked in. Prince William's face when he realized what was happening is pure, unadulterated cinema."

Prince William, Prince of Wales looks during the Emirates FA Cup Final match between Chelsea and Manchester City on May 16, 2026 in London, England

"Prince William just went full selfie mode!"

(Image credit: Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)

One commenter called the photo "the selfie we didn't know we wanted." Someone else noted, "Cherki knew exactly what he was doing." Another X post joked, "What crazy luck, Prince William managed to get a photo with Cherki."

Basically, the sneaky selfie seems to have delighted both royal fans and soccer supporters at once.

Amy Mackelden
Weekend Editor

Amy Mackelden is the weekend editor at Marie Claire, where she covers celebrity and royal family news. She was the weekend editor at Harper’s BAZAAR for three years, where she covered breaking celebrity and entertainment news, royal stories, fashion, beauty, and politics. Prior to that, she spent a year as the joint weekend editor for Marie Claire, ELLE, and Harper's BAZAAR, and two years as an entertainment writer at Bustle. Her additional bylines include Cosmopolitan, People, The Independent, HelloGiggles, Biography, Shondaland, Best Products, New Statesman, Heat, and The Guardian. Her work has been syndicated by publications including Town & Country, Good Housekeeping, Esquire, Delish, Oprah Daily, Country Living, and Women's Health. Her celebrity interviews include Jennifer Aniston, Jessica Chastain, the cast of Selling Sunset, Emma Thompson, Jessica Alba, and Penn Badgley. In 2015, she delivered an academic paper at Kimposium, the world's first Kardashian conference.