Booing Of Prince William At Soccer Game Was Not 'Personal,' Royal Expert Suggests

Prince William getting booed at a recent soccer game in the U.K. was not a personal attack, a royal correspondent has suggested.

The Duke of Cambridge, who is the president of the Football Association (FA), made headlines earlier this month after he was booed by thousands of soccer fans at the FA Cup final between Chelsea and Liverpool at England's Wembley Stadium on May 14.

The British national anthem, titled "God Save the Queen," and a rendition of the Christian hymn "Abide With Me" were also targets of booing during the game, The Independent reported.

In a recent episode of the "Palace Confidential" podcast, Victoria Murphy, a royal correspondent and author of "The Queen," suggested that the booing was aimed toward the institution Prince William "represented" rather than the duke himself.

"[To say] 'he was booed' feels like the wrong emphasis to put on it because it clearly was not a personal booing. It seems to be, from what I understand, more of a kind of anti-establishment feeling," she told podcast host Jo Elvin.

"It's a reminder that the royal family members do not just represent themselves. How they behave and what they do can affect how they're perceived and that matters," she continued. "But actually, they also represent an institution and the establishment, and sometimes people will be reacting to that and not to them personally."

Dickie Arbiter, a former press spokesman for Queen Elizabeth and another guest during the podcast episode, called the incident "outrageous."

He also weighed in on Murphy's "anti-establishment" suggestion, saying, "The royal family doesn't represent the establishment. Their establishment is acting on their behalf."

"If what you call the establishment... is it the legal system in this case? Because it's all revolving around what happened at Hillsborough 34 years ago. That's the interpretation anyway," he continued, referring to the fatal human crush during the FA Cup semi-final at Hillsborough Stadium in Sheffield, England, in April 1989 that left more than 90 people dead.

Meanwhile, Murphy also discussed Prince William, who is second in line to the British throne behind his father Prince Charles, traveling to the United Arab Emirates earlier this month on behalf of Queen Elizabeth to pay condolences following the death of His Highness Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan. The former U.A.E. president and ruler of Abu Dhabi passed away on May 13 at the age of 73.

The royal correspondent said she believes Prince Charles would have represented his mother had he and his wife Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall not been scheduled to start their royal tour of Canada that week.

However, Murphy noted that "when you compare to 10 years ago, the increase in Prince William's responsibilities is huge."

The 96-year-old British monarch now rarely travels overseas and has limited her public outings in recent months amid her mobility issues.

Prince William has been stepping up as the Queen scales back her royal engagements. Earlier this month, he joined Prince Charles and Duchess Camilla at the State of Opening of Parliament after the monarch decided to pull out of the event on the advice of her doctors.