Prince William felt it was important to have a “big” away day with his son Prince George, at Aston Villa's Champions League quarter-final match against Paris St Germain on Wednesday.
Speaking to pundits Ally McCoist and Rio Ferdinand before the game at Parc des Princes in Paris, the Prince of Wales admitted to feeling "pretty terrified" and "nervous," adding, "I'm wearing all my lucky clothes."
The royal's apprehension clearly turned to elation as he was later seen celebrating Morgan Rogers' first-half goal with a jubilant fist pump and a hug for George, who sported an Aston Villa scarf.
When asked by Rio Ferdinand if he was on a "lads tour," Prince William joked: "Well, I've got my son here as well, so I'm on best behaviour.
“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 by the TNT Sports pundits whether he would make his children support Villa, William replied: “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.”
William told the pundits that he was predicting a 2-1 victory for underdogs Villa, who ended up losing 3-1.
The royal hugged some of Villa’s players, including Marco Asensio and England international Marcus Rashford, as they came out of the dressing room.
After William discussed Villa’s tactics and the “intensity” of PSG’s press, former Manchester United defender Ferdinand joked: “Do not go for a punditry job, please, because I could be out of the game.
Welcome to Parc des Princes, Prince William! 👋
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) April 9, 2025
The Prince of Wales, and Aston Villa fan, joins @rioferdy5 and @Ally_McCoist9 to talk about the Villans' Champions League clash against PSG 🗣️@KensingtonRoyal pic.twitter.com/AttIJDHxkK
“The way he just dissected that there, I’m going to nick that for later on.”
William said Villa manager Unai Emery was an “absolute gentleman” and a “lovely guy”.
Discussing the Spanish coach, he added: “He’s 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.
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