The Prince of Wales was in Paris alongside his son Prince George and childhood friend Thomas van Straubenzee to watch Aston Villa in their Champions League quarter-final first leg against Paris St-Germain on Wednesday night.
However, despite the diehard Villa fan wearing his “lucky clothes” they lost 3-1 in the Parc des Princes and face a difficult task in the return leg at Villa Park next Tuesday.
Prince William said he was “pretty terrified” and “nervous” but predicted a 2-1 victory as he spoke to TNT Sports pundits Rio Ferdinand and Ally McCoist on the touchline before the game.
He admitted it was a “big deal” to take George, who was wearing a Villa scarf, and the pair were seen punching the air and hugging when Morgan Rogers gave them a first-half lead.
But PSG, who were crowned French champions on Saturday, fought back and scored three unanswered goals to take control of the tie.
The Prince, who was in the crowd for Villa’s home win over Bayern Munich and in Monaco in January, was asked if he was on a “lads tour” by former England international Ferdinand.
“Well, I’ve got my son here as well, so I’m on best behaviour,” he replied.
“But 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.”
Asked if he would like his three children to support Villa, who are seventh in the Premier League, Prince William said: “I’m generally very open to whoever they support, but obviously I’m a bit biased.
“But also they come to games with Villa. They’re going to probably support Villa, but I’ve left the other two at home, probably watching tonight, so we’ll wait and see who they support.”
The prince was seen hugging some of Villa’s players, including Marco Asensio and England international Marcus Rashford as they came out of the dressing room.
He spoke about Villa’s tactics and the “intensity” of PSG’s press – and how they would put pressure on the Villa defence – and Ferdinand joked: “Do not go for a punditry job, please, because I could be out of the game.
“The way he just dissected that there, I’m going to nick that for later on.”
Why does Prince William support Aston Villa?
The prince started supporting Villa during his school days.
Despite attending school in Berkshire, Prince William chose a team further afield as he did not want to follow the crowd.
“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 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 European Cup final win against Bayern Munich on 26 May 1982.
He has spoken previously about the joy he gets from following a club with the ups and downs that Villa have experienced.
“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 added.
“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.”
Image source, Getty Images-
15 minutes ago
The Prince of Wales was in Paris alongside his son Prince George and childhood friend Thomas van Straubenzee to watch Aston Villa in their Champions League quarter-final first leg against Paris St-Germain on Wednesday night.
However, despite the diehard Villa fan wearing his “lucky clothes” they lost 3-1 in the Parc des Princes and face a difficult task in the return leg at Villa Park next Tuesday.
Prince William said he was “pretty terrified” and “nervous” but predicted a 2-1 victory as he spoke to TNT Sports pundits Rio Ferdinand and Ally McCoist on the touchline before the game.
He admitted it was a “big deal” to take George, who was wearing a Villa scarf, and the pair were seen punching the air and hugging when Morgan Rogers gave them a first-half lead.
But PSG, who were crowned French champions on Saturday, fought back and scored three unanswered goals to take control of the tie.
The Prince, who was in the crowd for Villa’s home win over Bayern Munich and in Monaco in January, was asked if he was on a “lads tour” by former England international Ferdinand.
“Well, I’ve got my son here as well, so I’m on best behaviour,” he replied.
“But 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.”
Asked if he would like his three children to support Villa, who are seventh in the Premier League, Prince William said: “I’m generally very open to whoever they support, but obviously I’m a bit biased.
“But also they come to games with Villa. They’re going to probably support Villa, but I’ve left the other two at home, probably watching tonight, so we’ll wait and see who they support.”
The prince was seen hugging some of Villa’s players, including Marco Asensio and England international Marcus Rashford as they came out of the dressing room.
He spoke about Villa’s tactics and the “intensity” of PSG’s press – and how they would put pressure on the Villa defence – and Ferdinand joked: “Do not go for a punditry job, please, because I could be out of the game.
“The way he just dissected that there, I’m going to nick that for later on.”
Image source, Getty Images
Image source, Getty Images
Image source, Getty Images
Image source, Getty ImagesWhy does Prince William support Aston Villa?
The prince started supporting Villa during his school days.
Despite attending school in Berkshire, Prince William chose a team further afield as he did not want to follow the crowd.
“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 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 European Cup final win against Bayern Munich on 26 May 1982.
He has spoken previously about the joy he gets from following a club with the ups and downs that Villa have experienced.
“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 added.
“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.”
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