Prince William was in the stands to watch Aston Villa in Champions League action, with the Prince of Wales taking in his side’s clash with Barcelona from the directors’ box.
The 44-year-old has been a fan of the club since his days at Eton, when he shunned the more conventional Premier League big beasts supported by his schoolmates.
Since then, the Prince has followed Villa over land and sea and he was in position at the newly-renovated Camp Nou where he saw things get off to the worst possible start for his side when Lamine Yamal capitalised on a defensive howler to make it 1-0 to the hosts in the seventh minute.
Earlier, Barcelona posted a welcome on X, which read: ‘FC Barcelona is honoured to welcome His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales and His Royal Highness Prince George to the Spotify Camp Nou. Thank you for joining us for a special evening of Champions League football featuring your beloved Aston Villa.’
Prince William is no stranger to European travel, last week travelling to Istanbul to watch Villa thump six past Turkish giants Fenerbahce.
The result saw Aston Villa continue their perfect start in the league phase of the Champions League, with Emery’s side having won their opening two fixtures.
Prince William with Prince George after Aston Villa concede early on against Barcelona
The royals watched Lamine Yamal open the scoring for Barcelona early on
Istanbul will have happy memories for Prince William and his team after he followed them to the final of last season’s Europa League, which took place at Besiktas Stadium.
Previously, the Prince has travelled to destinations abroad including Paris to watch his beloved side, as well as regularly watching matches at home at Villa Park.
When asked about why he settled on the Midlands club, Prince William shared that it was the thrill of supporting a club without season after season of successes which had brought him to Aston Villa.
‘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.
‘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.’
