Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II once made a shock mistake after Buckingham Palace staff found out her favourite football team is West Ham.
The 95-year-old long-standing monarch had managed to remain hush-hush on where her club football allegiances lied in the public eye.
The same couldn’t be said for the Duke of Cambridge Prince William, who has spoken openly about his admiration for Aston Villa.
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The Queen revealed her allegiance to West Ham after she overheard one of her staff members mention that he is a Millwall fan.
The Daily Mirror reports that Buckingham Palace staff were “shocked” to learn that the UK’s head of state and head of the Commonwealth is a Hammers fan.
“The Queen has never wanted people to know who she supports because she wants to be seen to be neutral,” a Windsor Castle source told the newspaper.
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“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.
“They were quite shocked -- after all, she's not exactly your typical West Ham fan.”
According to The Mirror, Her Majesty’s fondness for West Ham might date back to former Hammers manager Ron Greenwood.
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Greenwood, who managed West Ham from 1961 to 1974, led the east London club to the FA Cup and European Cup Winners’ Cup in 1964 and 1965 respectively.
However, a spokesman for Buckingham Palace told the publication that the team the UK monarch supports is “not something we would know.”
Former Chelsea and Arsenal midfielder Cesc Fabregas has insisted that the Queen informed him that she was a Gunners supporter in 2007.
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“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