Strictly Come Dancing star Karen Carney has lifted the lid on what the future king is really like after a ‘special’ meeting last year
John Jones Sport Reporter
14:00, 04 Oct 2025
Prince William once met Karen Carney(Image: Chris Jackson, Getty Images)
Former England Women’s footballer Karen Carney is hoping to dazzle on the Strictly Come Dancing dancefloor once again this weekend, following her impressive debut in the first show of the new series.
The ex-Lioness left the judges and viewers astounded as she scored an impressive 31 out of 40 for her jive with professional dance partner Carlos Gu. That score propelled her to the top of the leaderboard – the first footballer to achieve this feat since John Barnes in 2007 – and saw her emerge as an early favourite to clinch the coveted glitterball trophy.
While it has emerged that Carney trained in dance as a child before turning her attention to football, her prowess on the dance floor took many fans by surprise as she added yet another string to her bow.
The 38-year-old is England’s third-most capped women’s player of all time, having made 144 appearances for the national team over a 14-year international career spanning from 2005 to 2019. Playing as a winger and midfielder, she also ranks among the Lionesses’ all-time top goalscorers, having found the back of the net 33 times.
Having started her career with Birmingham City, she went on to represent Arsenal, Chelsea and Chicago Red Stars. While she clinched two FA Cups with Birmingham and Chelsea, it was at Arsenal where she enjoyed the majority of her success, adding three Premier League National Division titles, three additional FA Cups, a Premier League Cup, and a UEFA Cup to her impressive collection of trophies.
Carney has since become a respected pundit in both the women’s and men’s game, building a successful career in broadcasting with outlets including TNT Sports, Sky Sports, ITV, and Amazon Prime.
Prince William meets Carney (left) and England teammates Ellen White and Steph Houghton in 2015
After being made an MBE in the 2017 New Year Honours, she was again recognised for her services to football by being made an OBE in the Birthday Honours last year. Her trip to Windsor Castle for the ceremony was a memorable one as she received the award from Prince William, an avid supporter of Aston Villa, the fierce rivals of her former club, Birmingham.
On meeting the prince, Carney admitted she “gave some banter” to the future monarch over the rivalry, but he had taken it in good faith, showing his true colours as a “massive” football fan.
“It’s been in the diary for some time and then only as I walked up and got into the room I got a little bit emotional and then it became quite real,” she said after receiving her OBE.
“The one common language that we can all speak is football, so had a good football chat with [Prince William] which was cool and had a really good time.
“I don’t want to be disrespectful to any of the others, but I’ve met Prince William before when I played for England, met him various times. To receive my OBE from him was special. He’s a massive football fan so we just chatted about football really.
“Everyone knows I’m a massive Birmingham City fan, and obviously Prince William is a Villa fan,” she added, as she noted that she had received her award on the same day the Villans faced European giants Bayern Munich in the Champions League.
“There’s a big Villa game tonight, which he’s going to. So I did my dad proud and said look I’m gonna give you some banter about the Villa and make sure you know I’m a Blues fan, which I’ve told him many times before.He’s a massive football fan, Lionesses and men’s football as well – it was great to chat with him.”
Carney is set to continue her Strictly journey this Saturday, as she and Gu take to the dance floor once more to perform the tango to Dua Lipa’s ‘Training Season’.