Prince William is a passionate fan of Aston Villa football club (that’s soccer to us in the U.S.)—and he will go to extreme lengths and lean into superstition if it means helping his team win.
Per The Sun, William said that, when it comes to Villa games, “I do have a bit of superstition about where I sit when I’m watching them.”
“If we’re not doing very well, I start moving ‘round the house quite quickly, and I put the children in different positions hoping that it’s going to change our luck,” he added, referring to kids Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis, who he shares with wife Kate Middleton (and presumably referring to their four-bedroom home, Adelaide Cottage, on the Windsor Estate).
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Of the kids, William said that they all have Aston Villa jerseys, but added they have jerseys of other clubs, too. The Prince of Wales said he’s not forcing Villa fandom on them, but George has been known to take in a match or two with his dad and shows a shared interest in the squad.
Though he will lean into superstition, the future king added, “If I’m home alone with the children, I probably don’t have the pre-match pint.” However, if he’s at a Villa game—as he was earlier this week, taking in a match at Villa Park, where the team plays home games, on March 12—we can bet a pre-match pint was enjoyed. And maybe a post-match pint, too, as Villa won on Wednesday—surely much to the royal’s delight.
When he can’t watch games at Villa Park, he said he was a “paid-up member of Villa TV,” and of the kids, he added that he’s “kind of hoping they’ll all find their own teams in time. They don’t all have to be Villa fans.”
Prince George, Prince William, Prince Louis, Princess Kate, and Princess Charlotte at 2024’s Trooping the Colour.
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“I’m trying not to be biased, but obviously they see how passionate I am about it and they watch the matches with me,” William said. “I’m trying to spread the love a little bit.”
That said, “They do have Villa shirts and ask to come to games with me, but they have other shirts as well. There’s been a bit of courting going on by other managers, too.”