Prince William told Phoebe Schecter, who captains Britain’s women’s flag football team, that he had played American football when he was younger.

She suggested that he needed to move his hips more by “embracing your inner Shakira,” referring to the Colombian singer.

Perhaps the prince could have borrowed some moves from his father’s impressive display of Samoan dancing at a recent reception.

But Phoebe thought Prince William had potential for the grid-iron game, even though the prince is better known for his support for the type of football played by Aston Villa.

“Honestly, Prince William was great – his arm strength is unbelievable, when he let that first ball rip I couldn’t believe it,” said Schecter.

She also got technical with talk about offence, hand-offs and calling the cadence, which in American football is the series of words shouted by the quarterback, rather than anything more musical.