
Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis were gifted the Leicester City football kits during their parents’ visit to Leicester yesterday.
Prince William, a well-noted Aston Villa fan, joked that “They’ll be fighting over the Leicester and Aston Villa kits, that’s very kind, that’s brilliant,” when he and Kate were presented with the three packages.
The deep blue boxes featured each child’s name embossed in gold along with the Leicester City logo.
Earlier this fall, Prince George was gifted with a Newcastle United jersey, number 3, when his father visited the Great Exhibition of the North in Northumberland in September.
Kate told a young boy in Coventry this past January that Prince George and Princess Charlotte support Aston Villa and love wearing its kit. When the boy told Kate he was an Arsenal fan, she joked that she was a Villa fan to be loyal to her husband.
William and Kate were in Leicester yesterday to pay respects to those who were killed in a helicopter accident on 27 October while taking off from the stadium, including Vichai Srivaddhanaprabha, the owner of the Leicester City Football Club, staff members Nursara Suknamai and Kaveporn Punpare, pilot Eric Swaffer and his partner, Izabela Roza Lechowicz.
Prince William released a statement shortly after the accident saying that Vichai was “a businessman of strong values who was dedicated to his family and who supported a number of important charitable causes.
“He made such a big contribution to football, not least through Leicester City’s magical 2016 season that captured the imagination of the world.”
Upon their arrival in Leicester, Will and Kate viewed the tributes to the victims of the accident, and Kate laid a bouquet of white flowers wrapped in a blue ribbon – reflecting the football club’s colours – with the message, “To Vichai and all those who died in this terrible tragedy, you will be sorely missed. Our sincere condolences to the city of Leicester.”
Will and Kate also met with Vichai’s widow and children, and the volunteers who have helped with the tributes at the football stadium.