Prince William, the Prince of Wales and heir to the British throne, has revealed that he did not inherit his passion for football from his father, King Charles III, explaining that his attachment to Aston Villa began during his school years after friends took him to his first match.
Prince William, well known for supporting Aston Villa, winners of the Europa League, made the admission during an appearance on the American podcast "New Heights", hosted by former American football stars Travis and Jason Kelce, saying: "My father hates football."
He added: "My family doesn't have a long history with football," noting that only a small number of family members support football clubs.
The 44-year-old British prince explained that his school friends were the reason he became attached to football in general, and to Aston Villa in particular, saying: "Growing up, you couldn't avoid talking about football — it was everywhere, and some school friends took me to my first match."
William recalled memories of that match, noting that he had met Gareth Southgate just days earlier, who reminded him that it was the first time Southgate had seen him watching as a Villa fan, when Southgate was playing as a centre-back during a match against Bolton in 2000 — years before he went on to manage the England national team.