While her father may be a die-hard Aston Villa fan, Princess Charlotte is far less interested in following in the Prince of Wales's sporting footsteps. The young royal, aged 11, has often demonstrated a keen interest in sport, ranging from cricket and gymnastics to netball and running. However, when it comes to football, Charlotte is determined to forge her own path, separate from her brother, Prince George, 12, and the Prince of Wales, 43, both of whom are avid supporters of the Birmingham-based club Aston Villa.
Instead, Prince William has now disclosed that his daughter is an enthusiastic supporter of Kate Middleton's beloved Chelsea Football Club. Just hours after the Prince of Wales emotionally watched Aston Villa's historic Europa League victory from the stands in Istanbul, William arrived in Cornwall on Thursday morning to visit a sustainable housing development. Wearing a pair of sunglasses and apologising for his lost voice, the prince spoke with schoolchildren from Newquay's Nansledan Primary School and younger children from the Naturally Learning Nursery.
When one of the sweet youngsters told the future king that she was a Chelsea fan, William responded: 'My daughter loves Chelsea.' This admission by the Prince of Wales that his daughter supports the London-based club left several royal fans 'delighted,' with one user writing: 'It's likely the Chelsea women's team she's a fan of.' Unlike her father and brother, who are both avid Aston Villa fans, Charlotte is a firm Chelsea supporter. Pictured: Charlotte during the UEFA Women's EURO 2025 final last summer.
William's Reaction to Charlotte's Choice
Meanwhile, another commenter added: 'He said he lets his children choose who they support and she supports Chelsea.' While William's support for Aston Villa dates back to his school days, the prince has previously indicated that he would be happy for his three young children to support any football team. 'I'm kind of hoping they'll all find their own teams in time. They don't all have to be Villa fans. I'm trying not to be biased but obviously they see how passionate I am about it and they watch the matches with me,' the royal told The Sun.
While the Princess of Wales has previously attended Aston Villa games alongside her husband, Kate has earlier revealed that she is a Chelsea football fan. During a Christmas party for the Anna Freud Centre in 2015, it was disclosed that the future queen was a fan of the Blues. A young child she met at the party later revealed to Hello!: 'We high fived because she supports Chelsea and I support Chelsea. I love people who support Chelsea.'
Despite Kate's affiliation with Chelsea, William has previously taken young Charlotte and George to watch Aston Villa in the stands, while the Princess of Wales earlier revealed that their young children are allowed to 'stay up late' and watch the games from home. The Birmingham-based football club seems a somewhat surprising choice for Britain's future king, who is often seen supporting the team at both home and away games. William has now shared that she is an avid supporter of Kate Middleton's much-loved football club.
Charlotte's Sporting Interests
Charlotte, 11, has often shown a firm interest in sport, from cricket, gymnastics, netball, and running. Pictured: Charlotte and the Prince of Wales attend the UEFA Women's Euro 2025 final in Basel, Switzerland last July. Yet William's passionate support for Aston Villa goes back decades, with the royal first deciding to follow the team during his time at Berkshire's Ludgrove School. Deliberately resisting the pull of more popular teams, William, 43, quickly became a die-hard Villa supporter and has not looked back since.
'A long time ago at school I got into football big time. I was looking around for clubs. All my friends were either Man United fans or Chelsea fans and I didn't want to follow the run-of-the-mill teams,' he told the BBC in 2015. 'I wanted to have a team that was more mid-table that could give me more emotional rollercoaster moments.' William was born 26 days after Villa's last European victory, when they lifted the European Cup after defeating Bayern Munich on May 26, 1982.
'Aston Villa's always had a great history. I have got friends of mine who support Aston Villa and one of the first FA Cup games I went to was Bolton v Aston Villa back in 2000. Sadly, Villa went on to lose to Chelsea (in the final),' he said. 'It was fantastic, I sat with all the fans with my red beanie on, and I was with all the Brummie fans and had a great time. It was the atmosphere, the camaraderie and I really felt that there was something I could connect with.'
Curiously, William's interest in the club intensified following a downturn in their fortunes. 'I kept an eye on Villa from then on but didn't get too involved initially,' he told the Sun. 'But Villa being relegated to the Championship in 2016 got me even more interested, strangely. A few years earlier, we'd finished sixth under Martin O'Neill and now we weren't even in the Premier League. I'm not certain why I became much more interested then, but it might have been due to the rise of the smartphone. I'd grown up looking at Ceefax on the television or the back pages of newspapers, and if you didn't have those to hand you were a bit out of the loop. But now you can get so much data and follow how your team is doing all the time and there's so much more discussion and debate. That's how my passion really increased.'
Last year, the Prince of Wales described how he was hopeful that taking George to the games would help him create 'special memories' with his son. When attending Aston Villa's Champions League quarter-final against PSG in April last year, William was asked by Rio Ferdinand whether it was a 'lads' trip'. 'I'm not sure how many Villa fans there will be but they will make themselves well known,' Prince William said. 'I have got my son here too so I am on best behaviour but 43 years since this has happened and I want George to experience a night out in a big competition, those memories are really important to create and bringing him away is important. I am open to who they support, I am biased but they come to games with Villa so it will likely be Villa, but I have left the other two at home probably watching on TV. We will see who they support.'
