All dads hope their children follow their lead when it comes to picking a sports team and it turns out The Duke of Cambridge is no different. He’s hinted that Prince George and Princess Charlotte could be set to make their father a happy man by giving their football allegiances to Aston Villa.
The tie is claret, the waistcoast and shirt are blue – William can’t keep away from his team’s colours even when he’s not cheering them on
Prince William has made no secret of his devotion to the Birmingham club and in the past he’s mentioned taking George along to see Villa play. Now, The Duke of Cambridge has told BBC Match of the Day that he thinks his two children could support Aston Villa as well. In the interview, which was recorded at Kensington Palace and which will be broadcast on BBC One on Saturday ahead of kick off for the big finale of the English football season, The Duke of Cambridge shares his hopes that George and Charlotte will make sure that at least two generations of British royalty follow the same club.
Speaking to the show’s host, Gary Lineker, ahead of Villa’s appearance in the FA Cup Final this Saturday William, who is President of the Football Association, also talks about how he became a fan of the club and how nervous he is feeling ahead of their appearance in the showpiece game this weekend. And he also discusses his ambition to support and promote football at grassroots level.
Gary Lineker said ‘It was fascinating to spend some time with The Duke of Cambridge and hear some more about his passion for the game. He is genuinely excited about the Cup Final and it’s great that we can showcase his enthusiasim for Villa to the Match of the Day audience.’
Aston Villa take on defending champions Arsenal in the final and William will be presenting the world famous trophy at the end of the game. His brother, Prince Harry, is know to be an Arsenal supporter and on a visit to the England Women’s Football Team last week, William confessed that FA Cup Day could be a ‘ very good day for me or a very bad day’.
And he might have a bit of a battle ahead of him to encourage his children to follow his team. Aston Villa have one of the highest tallies of silverware in English football but many of their trophies were won over decades ago – in fact, three of their seven FA Cup wins were in the reign of Queen Victoria and their most recent victory in the competition was in 1957.
Which will make Saturday – their first appearance in the FA Cup Final since 2000 – even more exciting for Villa’s most famous fan. The Duke of Cambridge might well get a fight from Uncle Harry over which team George and Charlotte support but if determination is anything to go by, William could soon be bringing two more fans along to Aston Villa.
Photo credit: By TheMatthewSlack [CC BY 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons
