Kate Middleton, Prince William slammed for giving in to Queen of Spain ahead of World Cup final

Prince William and Kate Middleton have received flak for their decision to not to attend the Lionesses' World Cup final match against Spain this weekend.

Kensington Palace has confirmed that the Prince and Princess of Wales will stay at home, despite the future King being the President of the Football Association, as he is keen not to take long-haul flights for a brief duty due to the potential impact on the environment.

However, The Royal Spanish Football Federation has confirmed that the Spanish Queen would make the nearly day-long trip to Sydney this week to watch the final alongside her daughter, Infanta Sofia, and support their nation's home team.

Commenting on the situation, a royal commentator has said that The Prince and Princess of Wales have scored an "own goal" by seemingly giving in to Queen Letizia. 

The royal family will watch the game at home in the UK as the England team seek to cement their champion status beyond Europe.

Royal expert Christopher Wilson has called out Princess Kate over their decision, suggesting her it's "not too late" to fly to Australia for the August 20 match.

"Ooops...own goal from Team Windsor. But it's not too late to book your ticket, #Kate - the Lionesses need your support," said Wilson.

Wilson went on commending Queen Letizia's decision, saying  Spain scored an early goal in "world optics" by having royals attend the match.

"In the end Spain will have a royal supporter there, the #Lionsses won't. At a time like this diplomatic considerations come second to world optics - currently the royal score is Spain 1, England 0," the expert said.

Wilson concluded: "The Spanish royal family feels this is a moment of national pride and that #QueenLetitzia's journey is necessary - shouldn't #William and #Kate?"