The Duke of Cambridge joked that Arsenal captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang required his assistance after he dropped the FA Cup trophy in front of his teammates.

Striker Aubameyang lost his grip as he went to lift the trophy following the Gunners’ 2-1 win against Chelsea in the FA Cup final on Saturday.

As William, who is president of the FA, watched the blunder on a large outdoor screen in Sandringham, he shouted: “That’s why you need the president there.”

Under normal circumstances, William would have presented the team with the trophy from the royal box at Wembley stadium.

However, this year the ground was empty of fans due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Instead, Aston Villa fan William hosted an outdoor screening at the Queen’s Sandringham Estate in Norfolk to raise the profile of his Heads Up mental health campaign.

Prior to kick-off, the Duke correctly predicted the final score, telling a fan: “I’m thinking 2-1 Arsenal.”

“I’m not allowed to predict apparently,” he added.

“People say ‘you’re the president of the FA, you can’t’.

“I’m like, ‘I’m not officiating, I can predict surely, I’m not actually a referee’.”

He was joined by guests including former England and Arsenal captain Tony Adams, who helped found Heads Up, Lioness and Chelsea women’s player Fran Kirby, who has previously spoken about her own struggles with depression and comedian Romesh Ranganathan, who is an ambassador for the charity Calm – the Campaign Against Living Miserably.

The prince was also joined by a small group of frontline workers, Heads Up ambassadors and members of Norfolk-based Arsenal and Chelsea supporters’ groups.

The Heads Up campaign is a partnership between the FA and the Cambridges’ Heads Together initiative.

Heads Together combines a campaign to tackle stigma and change the conversation on mental health with fundraising for a series of innovative new mental health services.