Prince William was spotted in the stands watching Aston Villa’s Champions League defeat to Monaco in the Principality on Tuesday night.
The young Villa supporter has been a consistent presence during his team’s European journey. He witnessed their triumphant return to the competition at the beginning of the season when they faced Bayern Munich at Villa Park.
During Aston Villa’s first home game in Europe’s top competition in over four decades, the Prince of Wales was thrilled to share that he had cheered so enthusiastically for his hometown team that he lost his voice. He expressed his astonishment at Unai Emery’s team managing to secure a 1-0 victory.
When his schedule allows, the 42-year-old regularly attends training sessions at Bodymoor Heath. He has been spotted engaging in conversations with Emery and the players, showing his dedication to supporting the team both on and off the pitch.
But the prince cut a somewhat more nervous presence on Tuesday evening on the French Riviera, as Emery’s side went 1-0 behind after just eight minutes.
Prince William had made the short trip across the Channel just hours after visiting Centrepoint’s Ealing service and meeting with people supported by the homelessness charity.
Prince William cut a nervous figure as he watched his beloved Aston Villa from the stands
The future king is in attendance to watch Unai Emery’s side face off with Monaco in the Champions League
The 42-year-old is facing a nervous wait for an equaliser after his team fell 1-0 behind early on
The prince was also snapped in the stands by an overwhelmed fan, who shared the candid picture on social media with the caption: ‘Say, what do you think the probability is in a lifetime of coming face to face with Prince William, just a few centimetres away from him? (Union flag emoji, crown emoji)
‘I ADMIT I CAN’T GET OVER IT (heart eye emoji)
‘(thank you for this emotion @AS_Monaco)’.
Also in attendance at the Stade Louis II was Prince Albert II, supporting his local side in the company of the club’s president and owner Dmitry Rybolovlev.
But as well as travelling to support Villa in Europe, the future king has mixed and mingled with fans at top flight games.
Last week saw Prince William buy a round for Villa fans waiting for matchday at a Wetherspoons near Birmingham New Street Station ahead of their Premier League clash with Everton.
He bought a round of beers for eight Villa fans and sipped a pint of Bulmers cider, staying for around half an hour before catching a train back to London.
Steve Jones, 56, Villa fan for last 35 years, said: ‘We were contacted by the club saying Prince William wanted to meet a delegation of Villa fans as he was in Birmingham as he wanted to keep in the loop with everything going on at Villa.
‘He was fantastic. I was quite amazed about how engaged he was with the club, his interest. He’s not a fair weather fan. He really loves the club with a passion.
Earlier in the day Prince William was in Ealing visiting a branch of Centrepoint – a charity he is Patron of
Also in attendance at Stade Louis II was Prince Albert II of Monaco (centre) supporting his local team
Prince William is an avid Aston Villa fan and frequent visitor to their home ground Villa Park
Just last week the prince bought a round for Villa fans waiting to attend their Premier League clash with Everton
Prince William is also a regular presence in the Villa dressing room and has attended training sessions on occasion
His eldest son Prince George is also a supporter of Aston Villa, but the prince is thought to be keen that his other children find different allegiances
‘We spoke about the club, the transfers, the pending Champions League trip to Monaco, and all things Aston Villa. He asked many questions – he’s got a good level of interest.
‘It was 95 per cent chat about Villa as that’s out shared interest but a bit about his family. Young George is a Villa fan but he didn’t want all three to be Villa fans.
‘He was massively interested and seemed a really genuine guy and all he wanted to do is talk about Villa.
‘He said he was hopeful about beating Everton tonight and would be watching but was wary about new manager syndrome, or rather old manager syndrome.’
The prince got his wish, with Villa running out the 1-0 winners courtesy of a 51st-minute goal by Ollie Watkins.
Jones also revealed that Prince William is a habitue of Villa fan forums in a bid to ‘keep abreast of Villa gossip’.
‘He goes under different names and he posts on there because that’s how he gets the feeling of what’s going on and what’s the opinion,’ Jones added.
