The Duke of Cambridge was pictured in the stands at Wembley Stadium on Sunday as he cheered on Aston Villa against Manchester City in the Carabao Cup final. Before he took his seat though, Prince William stopped by the team's dressing room before kick-off.
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Villa's head coach Dean Smith told Football Daily that the future King came down to the locker room to give a team talk: "He just came and told the players about the history of the football club and why he was a supporter. I was at an unveiling on Wednesday and managed to get two minutes with him and he told me he was coming to the game, so I invited him down."
William was jubilant as he celebrated Villa's goal in the first half, but when the final whistle blew, Manchester City won 2-1. The Duke 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.
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© Photo: Getty ImagesWilliam watching the match from the stands
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."
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge took their eldest children Prince George and Princess Charlotte to their first football match last October when Aston Villa played an away game at Norwich City's Carrow Road stadium. Sitting next to his dad, an excited George was spotted jumping up and down as the game ended in a 5-1 victory for Villa.
William and wife Kate are on a three-day tour of Ireland this week, from Tuesday 3 to Thursday 5 March.
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