England captain Leah Williamson suffered an embarrassing wardrobe malfunction when she collected her OBE earlier this month. The Arsenal defender reluctantly revealed what happened when meeting Prince William at Windsor Castle.
Williamson was recognised in King Charles’ first New Year’s Honours list released last December. However, she had to wait over eight months before she could pick up the award.
The 26-year-old has been undergoing rehabilitation since rupturing her anterior cruciate knee ligament while playing for Arsenal in April. Williamson is still yet to return to fitness but was at the Emirates to watch her team score two stoppage-time goals to beat Aston Villa in Sunday’s WSL clash.
She was interviewed at half-time by close friend and former Gunner Alex Scott. BBC presenter Scott clearly already knew about the wardrobe malfunction when collecting her OBE but wanted Williamson to reveal all.
She said: “Is this where I can tell everyone at home? Actually, you can actually. What went on with the outfit?”
Williamson explained that she had been able to hide that she split her trousers, until now. She replied: “The outfit, yeah, my trousers split.
“I received my OBE not in my best form, but no one knew about it until you just told the whole world, so thanks.”
Scott replied while laughing: “I had to tell everyone, I had to tell everyone!”
Williamson was one of four Lionesses to be recognised following the Euro 2021 triumph. Lucy Bronze, Beth Mead and Ellen White were all awarded an MBE.
Williamson finally got her hands on her OBE on October 4, presented by Prince William. She says the time she has had to wait has made her realise the significance of the award.
Williamson said: “Yeah I’m glad. I really appreciated it by the time it came around. So a nice day out, a nice moment to reflect on where I’ve come from but you know me, there’s still so much to do.”
Arsenal’s win over Villa on Sunday was their first of the season. Beth Mead made a return from her own ACL injury to set up Alessia Russo’s equaliser.
Williamson hopes to be back to match fitness in the coming months. On her injury, she said: “Yeah it’s good, it’s good.
“I’m running, I’m kicking a football like I used to, I don’t feel any different so that’s good. The lungs need a little bit of time to catch up.”
