2026 Ballon d'Or winner Harry Kane has been congratulated by Prince William, the Football Association patron and heir to the British throne.

Kane is the first English player to win the Ballon d'Or since Michael Owen in 2001, finishing clear of Kylian Mbappe, Lamine Yamal, Rodri and Lionel Messi in the 2026 voting to be crowned the best men's footballer in the world.

He is the first Bayern Munich player to win the award since 1981, when the great Karl-Heinz Rummenigge won the Ballon d'Or for the second consecutive year to complete half a decade of honours for players representing German Bundesliga clubs.

Prince William hails Ballon d'Or winner Harry Kane

Kane scored 61 goals in 51 matches in all competitions for Bayern last season, earning him a second European golden boot in advance of the World Cup. There, he led England to the semi-finals and scored another six goals.

When the 33-year-old parades the Ballon d'Or ahead of his record 126th cap against Croatia at Wembley next month, he'll be nine goals short of his international century.

On Monday evening William, Prince of Wales posted on Instagram: "What a fantastic achievement and so deserved. A brilliant captain, a remarkable player and someone who has given football fans across the world so many unforgettable moments."

William counts himself among those football fans and regularly attends Aston Villa matches in an unofficial capacity as well as England fixtures in his role as patron of the FA.

He has been watching on as Kane carved out a phenomenal career in the game. The Londoner is renowned for his intense focus on hitting the highest standards he can reach and his immutable thirst for goals.

Kane joined Tottenham Hotspur as a boy in 2004 and went on to become a legend in North London after cutting his teeth on loan at Leyton Orient, Millwall, Norwich City and Leicester City.

He left the Premier League as its second-highest goalscorer behind Alan Shearer and one of only three players to have scored more than 200 goals in the competition. At Bayern Munich, he has been able to collect the silverware and winners' medals he craved.

Kane is now a two-time Bundesliga champion and a DFB-Pokal winner, and the biggest individual accolade in football will be associated with him forever.

Mbappe scored 10 times at the World Cup but France were also eliminated at the semi-final stage and were beaten by England in the third-place play-off in July. Kopa Trophy winner Lamine Yamal was a World Cup winner in a Spain side that was almost the definition of a team effort.

Most footballers would take trophies over individual awards but Kane's claim to the Ballon d'Or was obvious. As he chases down the last few records and achievements of a stellar career, England's skipper now stands at the top of the world.