Prince of Wales praises Mary Earps after BBC Sports Personality of the Year win
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
The Prince of Wales has congratulated England goalkeeper Mary Earps after she was crowned 2023 BBC Sports Personality of the Year.
William, who is president of the Football Association, sent the 30-year-old a message on social media, posting on X: “Hugely well deserved, Mary. Congratulations! W”.
Earps, who was a key part of the Lionesses side which reached the Women’s World Cup final in the summer, topped the public vote for the award ahead of former England cricketer Stuart Broad and world heptathlon champion Katarina Johnson-Thompson.
She hailed the part played by her England and Manchester United team-mates as she accepted the accolade on Tuesday evening.
“I would not be here without my team-mates with the Lionesses and at Manchester United because we’ve achieved some incredible things over the last couple of years,” she said.
“While individual accolades are great, they only come after team success. This is their trophy just as much as mine.”
Earps saved a penalty from Spain’s Jenni Hermoso in the World Cup final in August, but the Lionesses were unable to add to their 2022 European crown as they slipped to a 1-0 defeat in Sydney.
Her international career appeared at a crossroads in 2021 and she acknowledged during the BBC show that she felt she had “lost purpose” after losing her place in the England team.
Sarina Wiegman recalled her in the first England squad she named in September of that year after Earps had been out in the cold since November 2019.
Earps said: “I always committed to myself that anything I would have after that period of time (out of the England team) would be a bonus and it just hasn’t stopped yet.
“I’m just trying to make the most of everything, because when it stops, you miss it.”
Her success on Tuesday night made her the third successive female winner of the award, after US Open tennis champion Emma Raducanu in 2021 and Earps’ England team-mate Beth Mead last year.
Wheelchair tennis player Alfie Hewett, jockey Frankie Dettori and golf star Rory McIlroy were the three other sports luminaries who made it on to the shortlist for the prestigious prize.
