Brentford FC mega-fan meets Prince William at charity awards event

By Hannah Davenport

22nd Sep 2021 | Local News

Natalie O'Rourke met the Duke of Cambridge at the Sun's 2021 Who Cares Wins awards (Image: Park Lane Stables)
Natalie O'Rourke met the Duke of Cambridge at the Sun's 2021 Who Cares Wins awards (Image: Park Lane Stables)

BRENTFORD FC fan, and mum to mega-fan Woody, said that Prince William "couldn't get a word in" when they met at a charity event last week.

Natalie O'Rourke met the Duke of Cambridge at the Sun's 2021 Who Cares Wins awards, when her Teddington charity, Park Lane Stables, won Best Health Charity in the UK.

Natalie said: "I got verbal diarrhoea and I started talking about Brentford FC to Prince William.

"I said to him, 'I need to tell you that I'm a massive Brentford fan' and went into a spiel about how great Brentford was and told him not to underestimate them.

"I don't think I let him get a word in, but he was very nice and ordinary, a lovely man."

Natalie went on to tell the Duke of Cambridge, and Aston Villa supporter, how lucky he was to have Ollie Watkins, and not to underestimate the Bees.

Ollie Watkins left Brentford FC to join Aston Villa in September 2020, after three years at the club.

Natalie added: "We also met David Beckham, and I was with one of our riders who has a disability and he was really charming to her and to my daughter."

The charity Park Lane Stables was awarded for their work supporting disabled people during the pandemic.

Natalie became a Brentford FC fan after her 8-year-old son Woody, who has Down Syndrome, started supporting the team.

Natalie said: "My son took an interest in football about four years ago but he couldn't talk at all then so we thought we should choose which team he should support.

"We thought, well we could afford to go to Brentford, so we chose them, and it just changed his life."

Natalie said they feel like a big part of the Bees community.

She said: "Woody is going to the match this weekend and I put on Twitter that it's the first time he is going without his mum.

"People reached out and even the Brentford police said they would look out for him, it feels like he has a community and it's now his whole passion in life.

"Even if they didn't make the Premier League, no matter what division they are in, they've always been so welcoming, which doesn't always happen when you have a disabled son."

Brentford FC manager previously sent Woody a message saying his support "means the world to me" after they shared a special moment at the Brentford FC match against Arsenal in August.

The Sun's Who Cares Wins awards were set up in 2017 and took place this year at the Roundhouse in Camden, London.

Aston Villa will play Brentford FC on New Year's Day (Saturday 1 January 2022).

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