MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Prince William headed the list of dignitaries who attended the funeral of Manchester United and England great Bobby Charlton on Monday.
The future king of England attended the service at Manchester Cathedral in his role as president of the Football Association.
Charlton, who was widely-regarded as the greatest English soccer player in history, died last month. He was 86.
Around 1,000 guests, including former teammates and leading sporting figures, attended his funeral, while fans paid their respects as the hearse carrying Charlton’s coffin passed United’s Old Trafford stadium.
Former United manager Alex Ferguson was among the representatives of United, the club Charlton played for from 1956-73, making 758 appearances.
UEFA President Aleksander Ceferin and England manager Gareth Southgate also attended.
The funeral cortege began at Old Trafford stadium, where it passed through a guard of honor made up of United’s academy teams.
Charlton survived a plane crash in 1958 that decimated a United team that seemed destined for greatness. He then went on to help his country win the 1966 World Cup and lifted the European Cup with United two years later.
He scored 249 goals for his club and won three league titles, the FA Cup and the European Cup.
Charlton held the record as England’s leading scorer with 49 goals until being surpassed by Wayne Rooney in 2015.
Harry Kane set a new benchmark this year and currently has 61 goals for his country.
Charlton’s iconic status meant he was revered by fans around the world as an ambassador of the game.
Real Madrid was represented by club great Emilio Butragueno. Manchester City sporting director Ferran Soriano was also in attendance.
United manager Erik ten Hag was not present due to what the club described as an “unbreakable and long-standing personal commitment in the Netherlands.”
But first-team players Harry Maguire, Luke Shaw, Jonny Evans and Tom Heaton did attend.
A number of United players were not available due to commitments to their national teams.
Ryan Giggs, Rooney, Paul Scholes, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and Roy Keane were among a host of former players to attend.
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