Why does Prince William support Aston Villa? Royal allegiance explained ahead of FA Cup clash

The team, currently seventh in the Premier League, travel to Selhurst Park today (April 26) for the semi-final of the FA Cup. Victory would secure them a trip to Wembley, where they would play against either Manchester City or Nottingham Forest.

It comes off the back of a relatively successful season for Villa, who beat Bayern Munich in the Champions League group stages in November, and have beaten the likes of Man City and Newcastle United in the Premier League.

The Prince of Wales will be unable to attend the game in person, as he flew to Vatican City for the funeral of Pope Francis - representing the Royal family in King Charles’ stead.

At Villa Park, video footage showed the Prince of Wales cheering and hugging other supporters around him after the Bayern Munich win, just a couple of hours after he met the 1982 trophy-winning squad. After the game, he said: “I’ve lost my voice. I can’t quite believe it. 42 years.”

Prince William has been to Villa Park on multiple occasions - and now even takes his son George to matches too. It’s been a life-long adoration of the club but it doesn’t run in the family; King Charles III supports Burnley and Prince Harry is reportedly an Arsenal fan.

So how did Prince William become so enamoured with Aston Villa? If you haven’t heard the story, it’s probably not the sort of thing you would expect.

Speaking to the BBC about his allegiance in 2015 - before the club’s FA Cup final against Arsenal - he said: “A long time ago at school I got into football big time. All my friends were Chelsea or Manchester United fans and I didn't really want to follow the run-of-the-mill team.

“I wanted to have a team that was more mid-table that could give me more emotional rollercoaster moments. Aston Villa has always had a great history.”