Prince William, a longstanding Aston Villa fan, took Prince George to the Parc des Princes last week to watch his team in the first leg of the Champions League quarter-final against Paris Saint-Germain.
The Prince of Wales told TNT Sports pundits Ally McCoist and Rio Ferdinand that bringing Prince George to Aston Villa’s Champions League quarter-final in Paris was a ‘big deal’ and that he was ‘nervous’ and ‘pretty terrified’ ahead of kick off.
William was pictured celebrating and hugging George, who was wearing an Aston Villa scarf, following Morgan Rogers’ opening goal which gave the Birmingham side a first-half lead.
When asked why he wanted to bring George to the game the prince replied: “I thought: You know what, it’s been 43 years since anything like this has happened in my generation as a Villa fan, and I want George to experience a night out away from home in a big European competition.
“I hope it’s not 43 years until the next one happens, but I think those memories are really important to create and bringing him along tonight is a big deal for me.”
Prince William has previously shed light on why he has spotted the club for so many years. Here we take a look at why he chose to support the team:
Speaking to the BBC in 2015, William explained why he decided to support Aston Villa over some of the larger clubs.
“A long time ago at school I got into football big time. I was looking around for clubs. All my friends at school were either Man United fans or Chelsea fans and I didn’t want to follow the run of the mill teams,” he said.
“I wanted to have a team that was more mid-table that could give me more emotional rollercoaster moments.
“Aston Villa’s always had a great history. I have got friends of mine who support Aston Villa and one of the first FA Cup games I went to was Bolton vs Aston Villa back in 2000. Sadly, Villa went on to lose to Chelsea.
“It was fantastic, I sat with all the fans with my red beanie on, and I was sat with all the Brummie fans and had a great time. It was the atmosphere, the camaraderie and I really felt that there was something I could connect with.”
Several years later, in 2020, William doubled down on his reasoning for following the club and added that the history around the team has “always been quite close” to him.
“People like Paul Merson were playing and I thought if people like him can play as well as he does, knowing the struggles he was under at the time…this is a club I can support,” he said.
“I was also born in ‘82, the year we won the (European) Cup, so I feel the history and pedigree around Villa has always been quite close to me.”
The prince has been spotted at a number of Villa matches over the years from 2013 to present day.
He notably attended the 2015 FA Cup final defeat to Arsenal, where he sat next to the then Villa owner Randy Lerner as a dignitary in the Royal Box.
The team lost the match 4-0 however and Prince William presented the trophy to his rival team.
William has also incorporated his support into his wardrobe having often been seen sporting a claret tie. One of these occasions included his sister-in-law Pippa Middleton’s wedding in May 2017.
During the first leg last week, William spoke about Villa’s manager, Unai Emery, who he called an ‘absolute gentleman’ and a ‘lovely guy’.
He added: “He’s [Emery] an absolute tactician. I mean, I try when I get the odd chance to talk to him, to try and take some nuggets of information from him, but he’s very guarded in what he says and how he does stuff.”
William was in the crowd for Villa’s victory over Bayern Munich earlier in the competition and away to Monaco in January.
