During Christmas at Sandringham, Louis gave a huge hint that he’s on board with a team William said has “always had a great history”
Prince William has long been an outspoken Villa fan, and his eldest son Prince George, 11, has joined his father in the fandom. After Prince Louis, 6, was recently spotted wearing an Aston Villa jersey “during a kick-about” with his mother Kate Middleton (per Hello!), it seems William’s youngest is officially on board, as well — liking not just soccer (known as football in the U.K.), but his dad’s preferred team.
The Villa shirt “appeared to be a hand-me-down from his older brother, Prince George,” Hello! reported, and was spotted while William, Kate, George, Louis and Princess Charlotte, 9, were at Sandringham for the royal family Christmas celebrations there.
In addition to liking professional soccer, both George and Louis play for local teams, “with Prince William and Kate often seen cheering from the sidelines,” according to Hello!.
In 2020, William, 42, shared that he was letting George pick his own favorite soccer team, but “admitted, however, to being concerned when George leaned towards supporting Chelsea [a rival soccer club] at a younger age,” Hello! reported.
In a year Prince William called “brutal” in November amid both his wife and father’s respective cancer diagnoses, soccer has been a bright light in a dark 2024 for the future king. The Prince of Wales has attended numerous Aston Villa matches this year, oftentimes with George in tow.
“He has been hugely buoyed by the results of Aston Villa,” a source told PEOPLE earlier this year. “You shouldn’t overlook the importance of soccer in these moments.”
William — who serves as president of the Football Association, the governing body of English soccer — has been a Villa fan since his college days at the University of St. Andrews, where he met Kate, now 42.
“A long time ago at school, I got into football big time,” he said, per The Sun. “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.”
In an October interview, Mike Tindall — who is married to Prince William’s cousin Zara Tindall — said “George loves his football. I’ve played numerous times in the garden with him.”
“He’s passionate about Aston Villa, too,” he added. “Wherever he is, he’ll sit down and watch that game.”
For her part, Charlotte is also a soccer fan, and during a 2022 visit to England’s national women’s team the Lionnesses, William called his daughter a “budding star” in the sport.
“Charlotte wanted me to tell you that she is really good at goal,” William told the team. “She said, ‘Please tell them that.’ ”
As of 2023, Louis was “mad” about rugby, according to his mother (but seems to be on board with soccer now, too!). “We’re always slightly competitive with each other,” the future queen said of her family of five last year. “They all love sport, and Louis is mad about rugby. They are at an age where they just love running around.”
Though he’s been an Aston Villa fan for decades now, Prince William’s affinity for the team seems to be as strong as ever. In October, he lost his voice cheering the team on to victory, saying at an engagement the next day, “I lost my voice because I was shouting a bit too much last night.”
