Prince William speaks up about football and mental health amid COVID-19 crisis

In a rare candid interview, Prince William appeared as a guest on "That Peter Crouch Podcast," where he spoke about football, the coronavirus lockdown and mental health.

The Duke of Cambridge made his first-ever podcast appearance on the show's episode this week. As the president of the Football Association, the prince opened up about his mission to open mental health conversations through the sport. In fact, he spearheaded the campaign to rename the FA Cup final officially to the "Heads Up FA Cup final."

William told English football legend Peter Crouch that he hopes renaming the final will show the UK and the football world the importance of mental health. He also brought up the fact that the current situation with the COVID-19 pandemic is putting a strain on the mental health of millions of people, himself included.

In a rare glimpse into the royal's private life, he said that the pandemic has shown him that he isn't as patient as he thought. "That's probably the biggest eye-opener for me, and my wife has super patience," he said.

William also said that he feels like he needs football because it's a form of mental release. Especially since becoming a father and a family man, he says that he appreciates some time blowing off steam with the boys.

In an excerpt from the interview published by the BBC, Prince William also admitted that he missed football when all sporting events were forced to shut down at the onset of the pandemic. "I was trying to pretend I didn't care too much it wasn't around. But by the end of the third weekend, I was really missing it. It just goes with the weekend," he admitted.

A known Aston Villa fan, the FA president also shared that he often wants to tweet his support to the team, but has been advised against it. He says the restriction came after he was overcome with emotion and tweeted about Liverpool's victory against FC Barcelona in last season's UEFA Champions League semi-finals. "Nearly every Villa match we've won - which isn't many this season - I've been trying to get hold of it [Twitter], but they keep it away from me now."