In the early hours of Monday morning, Prince William stayed up at Forest Lodge in Windsor to watch England’s memorable victory over Mexico.
The Prince of Wales endured the delayed kick-off, the intense atmosphere of the Azteca Stadium, and a nerve-jangling finish as a 10-man England side clung on to their lead.
As Patron of the Football Association, William has watched every England match during the tournament and has been in direct contact with players and staff throughout.
Several England footballers are reported to hold Prince William’s personal phone number, reflecting the depth of his involvement with the national set-up.
If England reach the World Cup final in New Jersey on 19 July, William will attend as an official representative of both the FA and the royal family.
No royal has ever demonstrated their love for football quite so openly or so passionately as the future King.
That passion was on full display on 20 May, when his official accounts posted “UTV! VTID” alongside a red love heart and a muscular arm emoji, translating as “Up the Villa” and “Villa Till I Die.”
The posts, marked with a “W” to confirm they came personally from William, went up minutes after Aston Villa claimed the Europa League with a convincing 3-0 victory over German side Freiburg in Istanbul.
It was Villa’s first European title in 44 years, having won the European Cup in 1982, the very year Prince William was born.
William attended the final with close friends including Ben Dawes, Thomas van Straubenzee, and Edward van Cutsem, all of whom are long-standing Villa regulars who share his devotion to the club.
His reactions to each goal, captured on the TV coverage, were described by fans as pure “limbs,” the uninhibited shouts, embraces, and celebrations that define the terraces.
Villa captain John McGinn singled out their royal supporter in his post-match interview, saying: “He’s a classy guy. He was in the dressing room before the game and he’s a massive Villa fan, he was never going to miss it and it’s great to have his support.”
William further cemented his credentials that night by meeting Mat Kendrick and Dan Rolinson, hosts of the Claret and Blue podcast, who were sitting just a few rows away.
It emerged that Prince William is a regular listener of the podcast, and he told them he enjoyed the “good nonsense” of their show and expressed a desire to appear on it in future.
“Football fans always like to get one up on each other and as celebrity fans go we are doing pretty well because we have the future King of England and also the actor, Tom Hanks,” said Mat Kendrick.
William’s Villa allegiance was formed as a teenager, reportedly at the encouragement of a family friend, and his choice of club has worked in his favour with the wider public.
“Avoiding say Manchester United or Liverpool, huge global brands, and Arsenal or Chelsea, did make him more relatable,” said Gregg Evans, writer for The Athletic and co-author of Waking the Giant, Inside the Rebirth of Aston Villa.
When asked on Travis Kelce’s New Heights podcast whether his father had encouraged his support for Villa, William’s response was unambiguous: “Absolutely not. My father hates football.”
Queen Elizabeth II was devoted to horseracing, the Princess of Wales is a dedicated tennis fan and Patron of the All England Lawn Tennis Club, while polo has long held appeal within the family, but football has never featured until now.
In a country where a World Cup match can keep more than nine million people awake through the night, William’s passion for football gives him a unique and genuine connection to the public he will one day serve as King.
