Prince William has changed his stance after previously telling his son Prince George to support any club other than Chelsea. The Blues are set to face Manchester City in the FA Cup final on Saturday.
A rollercoaster season for Chelsea
It has been a rollercoaster season for Chelsea, who sit ninth in the Premier League, as the club look to end the campaign with silverware. Interim boss Calum McFarlane will lead the team at Wembley Stadium after the club parted ways with two managers, Enzo Maresca and Liam Rosenior, this term.
The west London side will not be the favourites against City as they aim to lift the famous trophy for the ninth time in their history. While fans at Wembley will try to roar the team to victory, Prince William previously instructed his eldest child not to support Chelsea.
Prince William's earlier comments
In 2019, when appearing on the BBC's A Berry Royal Christmas, he was asked about Prince George's growing love of football. 'I try not to be too biased, I said you can support anyone but Chelsea, so naturally he supports Chelsea,' he said.
Prince William is a passionate Aston Villa fan, as demonstrated by his celebrations in the team's recent 4-0 triumph over Nottingham Forest at Villa Park. The 43-year-old was overcome with joy as Unai Emery's side reached the Europa League final.
A shift in stance
The Prince of Wales has been seen at many Villa games over the years, including their Champions League quarter-final tie away at Paris-Saint Germain last season. Prince William attended the game alongside Prince George, who he hopes will become a Villa fan, but insisted that the 12-year-old was free to support any team, marking a shift from his comments about Chelsea.
'I'm genuinely open to whoever they support,' Prince William told TNT Sports. 'I'm a bit biased but also they come to Villa games so they're probably going to support Villa. I've left the other two at home tonight so we'll wait and see who they support.'
The royal had already softened his stance on Prince George becoming a Chelsea supporter during Frank Lampard's first stint as manager in 2020. 'It's about finding what fits for him,' Prince William said on That Peter Crouch podcast. 'Previously, I was a bit concerned about him supporting Chelsea, but now Frank's come in, I feel the culture's a bit different at Chelsea and I'd be okay with it.'
'I do like the values and the ethos of the clubs. I want them to look after the players and set a good example to the young fans. I want our children, when they go the match, to come away loving what they've seen, enjoying it and seeing their role models behave in a way that we'd all want them to.'
Villa's Europa League final
Meanwhile, Prince William will be looking forward to Villa facing Freiburg in the Europa League final on Wednesday, May 20. The Villans are one game away from their first major trophy since 1996.
Prince William was seen punching the air in delight as Villa produced an emphatic 4-0 display against Forest and spent time with the team after the match. Villa boss Emery said: 'He was in the dressing room with the players and with me, and of course, he is so happy as well.'
