Peter Crouch was "lost for words" when Prince Harry told him his wife was out of his league

Peter told the Daily Mirror newspaper: "His exact words were, 'How did you bag Abbey Clancy?' which I have to say left me taken aback.

"I'm not normally lost for words, but on this occasion I didn't know what to say. I totally froze and then he was gone."

Peter was with fellow players Jamie Carragher and David James when Harry made his comments and they found it hilarious.

He said: "David and Jamie obviously thought it was hilarious and were laughing their heads off and, in retrospect, perhaps I should have said something like, 'That's a bit rich coming from a short balding ginger guy', but I didn't."

Meanwhile, Peter - who met Abbey in a bar in Liverpool back in 2006 and has been married to her since 2011 - previously said he believes their relationship works because they both have careers in the public eye and understand one another's jobs.

He said recently: "It's nice for her to get out and do stuff. I've seen other players whose wives aren't well known and, in social settings, they get cut out completely. Everybody just wants to talk to the player, and it's not nice. Whereas with us, people want to engage with her as well.

"She understands. It's very fickle. One minute you're up there and the next minute you're down there. It's almost as cut-throat as football."