Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II once let slip that her favourite team is West Ham much to the surprise of Buckingham Palace staff.
The 95-year-old long-standing monarch kept hush-hush on where her club football allegiances lied in public.
Juxtaposing the Queen’s stance was the Duke of Cambridge Prince William, who has openly admitted that he is an Aston Villa fan.
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However, the UK’s head of state and head of the Commonwealth broke her silence after overhearing one of her staff members saying that he is a Millwall fan.
According to The Daily Mirror, the Queen “shocked” her Buckingham Palace staff at the time after she spilled the beans on her love for West Ham.
A Windsor Castle source told the newspaper in 2009: “The Queen has never wanted people to know who she supports because she wants to be seen to be neutral.
“But she gave up her secret after overhearing one of her staff members saying he was a Millwall fan and was talking to another member of staff about the derby between West Ham and their arch-rivals.
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“They were quite shocked -- after all, she's not exactly your typical West Ham fan.”
The Daily Mirror believes that Her Majesty’s admiration for the Hammers dates back to former West Ham boss Ron Greenwood, who led the club to the FA Cup and European Cup Winners' Cup in 1964 and 1965 respectively.
A Buckingham Palace spokesman told the newspaper the team that the Queen supports is “not something we would know.”
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Despite reports that the UK monarch is a West Ham fan, Monaco midfielder Cesc Fabregas previously claimed that Her Majesty told him she was an Arsenal fan in 2007.
“It seems the Queen follows football and she told us she was an Arsenal fan,” he said.
“She appeared to definitely know who I was and we exchanged a few special words.”
Featured Image Credit: PATopics: West Ham United, Premier League, England, Football