Prince William's love of Aston Villa could break 17-year royal tradition

Prince William could be about to break a long-running royal tradition thanks to his very public love of Aston Villa.

The Prince of Wales was at Villa Park as his side secured a huge Europa League semi-final win over Nottingham Forest, and he was not exactly hiding his emotions.

William, with identity as a Villa supporter being very publicly known, was pictured celebrating in the stands after the club won 4-0, overturning a one-goal deficit from the first leg and booking their place in the final.

This type of reaction would feel completely normal for standard football fans. After all, if your team reaches a European final, keeping calm is not really the natural response.

On the other hand, when you are the future king, a night at the football can end up carrying a slightly different meaning.

Villa’s win could now tempt William to travel to Istanbul (James Gill - Danehouse/Getty Images)

The reason it could become a tradition-breaking moment is that William may now attend Aston Villa’s Europa League final in Istanbul on 20 May, making it a major European final appearance driven by personal club loyalty rather than royal duty.

That would mark a noticeable shift from his last comparable trip 17 years ago.

Back in 2009, William attended the UEFA Champions League final in Rome between Barcelona and Manchester United. However, that visit was framed very differently.

At the time, the Royal Family said he was attending in his role as President of the Football Association, and as a key supporter of England’s 2018 World Cup bid — as stated on the official Royal website.

He was also due to meet FIFA and UEFA officials, other dignitaries, and senior FA figures around the match.

So, while football was obviously at the centre of it, the event was still wrapped up in official duties, sporting politics and England’s international ambitions.

This latest Aston Villa moment, however, feels much more personal. Sky News reported that William later celebrated with Villa players in the dressing room after the final whistle, following a night that saw the club reach its first European final since 1982.

William attended Barcelona v Manchester United in Rome in 2009 (Denis Doyle - UEFA/Contributor/Getty Images)

That year, Villa won the European Cup, so understandably, fans are already daring to dream.

Villa’s win came thanks to goals from Ollie Watkins, Emi Buendia, and two from John McGinn, with the club now set to face German side Freiburg in the final.

Watkins praised manager Unai Emery after the match, saying: “There is no better manager to get us prepared for this game and obviously take us into the final as well.”

He added: “We are in a great position, but we need to go there and win now.”

The wider season has already been a huge one for English clubs, with Arsenal reaching the Champions League final and Crystal Palace making the Conference League final.