Prince William made a surprise outing on Thursday night as he headed to Villa Park in order to watch his beloved Aston Villa take on Bosnian team Zrinjski Mostar in the Europa Cup.
The Prince of Wales watched a very tense match, but was ultimately left thrilled when Aston Villa scored a last-minute goal during injury team, leaving them the winners on 1-0. The royal was spotted in the crowd by eagle-eyed audience members, and his visit to the club comes shortly after he and the Princess of Wales headed to Cardiff in order to mark the beginning of Black History Month and the 75th anniversary of the arrival of the HMT Empire Windrush to the UK.
William and Kate were given a warm welcome in the Welsh capital as they arrived for their first engagement – a visit to the Grange Pavilion, where the future King got a big laugh as he joked, 'Who's pinching my bottom?' to a group of elderly men and women.
William and Kate chatted to members of the Windrush Cymru Elders, a group that was established in 2017 that aims to promote the understanding of ethnic minority elders' concerns and needs whilst also celebrating the contributions of the Windrush generation.
© GettyThe couple heard about the lived experiences of the elders and how the Windrush Generation have positively impacted the Welsh community.
William and Kate were also introduced to young people involved in the Ethnic Minority Youth Forum, a group of 11 to 25 year olds who seek to be a voice of change for young people from minority ethnic groups in Wales.
© GettyThe royals had the chance to speak to local young people from the Somali community, which forms a large part of Cardiff's Grangetown district. They heard about community projects members of Wales Somaliland Youth Links and Cardiff Bay Warriors FC have been involved in, from football to youth unemployment.
William has long been a fan of Aston Villa, and speaking to Gary Lineker about his love for the team, he explained: "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.
© Getty"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."
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The royal added: "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."
It appears that the Prince's young son, Prince George, is following in his father's footsteps as he has joined his father to several matches.
