The Duke of Cambridge has long been a loyal Aston Villa fan, even passing his passion for the football team on to his eldest son Prince George, who appeared delighted when they watched the club defeat Norwich in October. So he may have been a little surprised to receive West Bromwich Albion football shirts for George's siblings Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis during a visit to the rival club's training ground on Thursday.
WATCH: See Prince William's visit to West Bromwich Albion
The club CEO Mark Jenkins presented Prince William with two shirts for his youngest children with their ages in numbers on the back, but conceded it may be too late to convert Prince George into a West Bromwich fan, giving him a football instead. "I don’t think we've got a chance with your eldest," Mark told the Duke.
STORY: Prince William reveals how he handles Prince George and Princess Charlotte's sibling rivalry
Prince William was visiting the club to launch the latest stage of his mental health campaign, and admitted he had to be "careful what I say" as he crossed into enemy territory to meet with some of Aston Villa's local rivals. The President of the FA joked with players and coaches during his visit, saying: "I'm sorry I'm here as an Aston Villa fan but I'm hoping we can move on from that." He went on to discuss his Heads Up campaign, which is aiming to break down the stigma of mental health in football.
© Photo: Getty ImagesPrince William and Kate took George and Charlotte to watch Aston Villa in October
It's unlikely we'll be seeing Prince William and Kate's children wearing their new football shirts anytime soon; a family of Aston Villa fans, the Duke and Duchess took their two oldest children to watch the team against Norwich at the beginning of October, where they won 5-1. Prince George couldn't contain his excitement when Conor Hourihan scored, and was pictured jumping up and down and punching the air with joy.
WATCH: Prince George's cutest moments
William has previously explained why he supports Aston Villa, despite not being from the Midlands, telling Gary Lineker in 2015 that the decision dates back to his childhood. The Prince revealed: "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. I wanted to have a team that was more mid-table that could give me more emotional rollercoaster moments."
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