When Aston Villa sealed a historic 3-0 Europa League triumph over Freiburg in Istanbul last night, Prince William became overcome with emotion for his beloved team while stood in the stands.
The Prince of Wales – patron of the Football Association- was spotted front and centre at Besiktas Park with some of his oldest friends, punching the air in delight as Unai Emery’s side lifted their first major trophy in 30 years.
The Birmingham-based football club seems a somewhat surprising choice for Britain’s future King, who is often seen supporting the team at both home and away games.
Yet William’s passionate support for Aston Villa goes back decades, with the royal first deciding to follow the team during his time at Berkshire’s Ludgrove School.
Deliberately resisting the pull of the more popular teams, William, 43, quickly became a die-hard Villa supporter and has not looked back since.
‘A long time ago at school I got into football big time. I was looking around for clubs. All my friends were either Man United fans or Chelsea fans and I didn’t want to follow the run-of-the-mill teams,’ he told the BBC in 2015.
‘I wanted to have a team that was more mid-table that could give me more emotional rollercoaster moments.’
William was born 26 days after Villa’s last European victory – when they lifted the European Cup after defeating Bayern Munich on May 26, 1982.
When Aston Villa sealed a historic 3-0 Europa League triumph over Freiburg in Istanbul last night, Prince William was seen in the stands overcome with emotion for his beloved team
The Prince of Wales – patron of the Football Association- was spotted front and centre at Besiktas Park with some of his oldest friends, punching the air in delight as Unai Emery’s side lifted their first major trophy in 30 years
The Prince of Wales alongside Aston Villa manager Unai Emery with the Europa League trophy
‘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 v Aston Villa back in 2000. Sadly, Villa went on to lose to Chelsea (in the final),’ he said.
‘It was fantastic, I sat with all the fans with my red beanie on, and I was 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.’
Curiously, William’s interest in the club intensified following a downturn in their fortunes.
‘I kept an eye on Villa from then on but didn’t get too involved initially,’ he told the Sun. ‘But Villa being relegated to the Championship in 2016 got me even more interested, strangely.
‘A few years earlier, we’d finished sixth under Martin O’Neill and now we weren’t even in the Premier League. I’m not certain why I became much more interested then, but it might have been due to the rise of the smartphone.
‘I’d grown up looking at Ceefax on the television or the back pages of newspapers, and if you didn’t have those to hand you were a bit out of the loop.
‘But now you can get so much data and follow how your team is doing all the time and there’s so much more discussion and debate. That’s how my passion really increased.’
William popped up at Villa’s afterparty, pictured with his arm around Victor Lindelöf’s wife Maja, to his left which she shared on Instagram with the phrase in Swedish that translates as ‘to go off the rails’
Now, William has sought to share his unwavering support for Aston Villa with his eldest son, Prince George, 12, who has often been regularly spotted in the stands
Now, William has sought to share his unwavering support for Aston Villa with his eldest son, Prince George, 12, who has often been regularly spotted in the stands.
Last year, the Prince of Wales described how he was hopeful taking George to the games would help him to create ‘special memories’ with his son/
When attending Aston Villa’s Champions League quarter-final against PSG, William was asked by Rio Ferdinand whether it was a ‘lad’s trip’.
‘I’m not sure how many Villa fans there will be but they will make themselves well known,’ Prince William said.
‘I have got my son here too so I am on best behaviour but 43 years since this has happened and I want George to experience a night out in a big competition, those memories are really important to create and bringing him away is important.
‘I am open to who they support, I am biased but they come to games with Villa so it will likely be Villa, but I have left the other two at home probably watching on TV. We will see who they support.’
Last night, red-faced, teeth clenched, fists shaking, the Prince threw himself into the air and bellowed to the heavens.
Between wiping away tears, he flung his arms around the gaggle of men in navy-blue smart casual who had watched the game alongside him from the box.
‘A long time ago at school I got into football big time. I was looking around for clubs. All my friends were either Man United fans or Chelsea fans and I didn’t want to follow the run-of-the-mill teams,’ William told the BBC in 2015
Sitting to his right, on the end of the row, was Ben Dawes – better known as ‘Dawesey’. An old friend of William’s, Dawes co-founded a wine businesses with his wife, Pip, and recently said he is trying to master padel ‘to give myself something to think about’.
To William’s left were 16-year-old Jake van Cutsem and his banker father, Edward van Cutsem – one of the Prince’s closest childhood friends. William and the van Cutsems were filmed dancing and singing to ‘Sweet Caroline’ together in their box.
William also got an invite to the afterparty to celebrate Villa’s 3-0 win over Freiburg to win the Europa League – their first European title since 1982, the year of the prince’s birth.
Star defender Victor Lindelöf’s wife Maja shared an image of her partying with William with the caption: ‘Going off the rails’. Her post also revealed that friends and family had danced and sang through the night in the team hotel with the famous trophy.
William posted on X after the final whistle: ‘Amazing night!! Huge congratulations to all the players, team, staff and everyone connected to the club! 44 years since the last taste of European silverware!
‘Special shout out to Boubacar Kamara who has been out injured but is such an integral part of our team and helped lay the foundations of this success.’
He finished the post ‘UTV! VTID’ using the abbreviated forms of ‘Up The Villa’ and ‘Villa Till I Die’.
Earlier in the evening, William had paid a pre-match visit to the Villa dressing room, offering a final word of encouragement as Emery’s side prepared for the biggest game in a generation.
Dressed smartly in a black suit and blue shirt, he initially cut a tense figure while making his way through the tunnel ahead of kick-off. But there was little sign of nerves once the action began, as he cheered on a famous – and relatively straightforward – victory for the Birmingham club.
‘He’s a classy guy, he was in the dressing room before the game,’ Villa captain John McGinn said.
‘He’s a massive Villa fan and he was never going to miss it. It’s great to have his support and he’s just a normal guy. Hopefully it (his support) continues and tonight he can have a couple of drinks with us and maybe get his credit card out at the end of the night.’
