Will there ever be such a thing as a normal existence for Wrexham AFC under Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney?

Probably not, judging by another surreal couple of days that underlined, once again, how life at this previously provincial football club has been turned upside down.

First, Prince William rode into town on Friday lunchtime with his extensive security detail to mark St David’s Day, the patron saint of Wales. Like many before him, including Hollywood stars Will Ferrell and Paul Rudd, the King’s eldest son headed straight for The Turf, a pub now familiar to millions through the success of the Welcome to Wrexham documentary.

Having poured a pint behind the bar alongside landlord Wayne Jones and then downing a shot of whiskey with Wrexham co-owner McElhenney, the Prince of Wales moved next door to The Racecourse Ground to meet men’s manager Phil Parkinson and Steve Dale, the women’s team boss.

Ben Tozer and club captain Luke Young were also on hand to present William with a team shirt. A little over 24 hours later, Wrexham were running riot on the same pitch, as a first half hat-trick from Paul Mullin, surely the people’s choice Prince of (north) Wales, helped set up a…

As the Team GB manager at the London 2012 Olympics, Hope Powell left Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium on foot following the 1-0 win over New Zealand in their opening game.

She was, in her words, “mobbed” by fans. In her book Hope: My Life in Football, she recounts spending hours signing autographs and posing for photographs with supporters. This was not normal.

A decade before England’s victory at the 2022 European Championship, 70,584 fans watched Steph Houghton score in Team GB’s 1-0 group-stage win over Brazil at Wembley. Up until then, Powell herself had only played or managed in front of a crowd of a few hundred.

She described Team GB’s participation at that summer’s Olympics — the first time Great Britain had entered a women’s football team despite the event existing since 1996 — as a “major breakthrough” for the sport.

London 2012 was part of the vehicle to increase professionalism and commercialism in the women’s game in Britain. But that vehicle has now stuttered and choked: Team GB will play no part in the 2024 Paris Olympics after England, the nominated nation to attempt qualification on behalf of Great Britain, beat Scotland 6-0 but failed to better…