Prince William did his best to hide his irritation after he was presented with a gift for his five-year-old son Prince George, which he definitely – secretly – didn't approve of! During a visit to Newcastle last week, William was given a mini Newcastle United football shirt which had George's name and the number three printed on the back. The Duke, who is an avid Aston Villa fan, jokingly shook his head as he held up the shirt and said: "Oh my goodness. I don't know about this." After feigning disappointment, he smiled and added: "That's very kind."
William openly supports Aston Villa and has previously spoken in the past about why he chooses to cheer on the Birmingham-based team. The Prince, whose home Kensington Palace is near Chelsea and Fulham, told Gary Lineker in a 2015 interview: "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."
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He continued: "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. 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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"Oh my goodness. I don't know about this," William joked
William has certainly passed on the football fever to his elder children Prince George and Princess Charlotte, three. The youngsters have been spotted playing football in the gardens of Kensington Palace, and their mum Kate has previously revealed her brood have their own Aston Villa kits.
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When Charlotte was nearly two, William also confessed that his little girl was showing good potential as a future footballer. "Charlotte is the one who shows more aptitude [for football]," he said during a chat with the England women's team captain, Steph Houghton, and her teammate Jill Scott. "George is sort of getting into it slowly, but Charlotte is showing more aptitude… They're great."
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