Prince William will attend the FA Cup Final at Wembley Stadium tomorrow and present the trophy to the winners, Kensington Palace has confirmed.
The Prince of Wales, who is the Football Association’s president, will sit in the Royal Box for the match between Manchester City and Manchester United from 3pm.
The 41-year-old’s attendance at the showpiece game in North West London in front of 90,000 fans was confirmed by palace officials at 9.30am this morning.
But royal aides did not say whether he would be joined by any of his children, after Prince George has been seen at Aston Villa matches earlier this season.
William’s wife Kate will definitely not be at Wembley as she continues to stay away from the public spotlight while receiving chemotherapy treatment for cancer.
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It comes after the Royal Family revealed on Wednesday that it had postponed engagements ‘which may appear to divert attention or distract from the election campaign’ after Rishi Sunak called a surprise summer General Election for July 4.
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Prince William walks past the FA Cup trophy during a previous final at Wembley in May 2017
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The Prince will be at Wembley for the match between the Manchester teams tomorrow
The Prince’s beloved Villa exited the FA Cup three months ago on February 7 after a 3-1 home defeat to Chelsea in a fourth round replay.
But last week William hailed Villa for qualifying to play Champions League football next season, praising their ‘historic season’ and ‘amazing achievement’.
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Posting on his Kensington Royal X account, William wrote: ‘We are Champions League! A historic season and an amazing achievement. Thanks to Unai, the whole squad and everyone at @AVFCOfficial. Can’t wait for next season. #UTV! W.’
UTV stands for ‘Up The Villa’, while the ‘W’ is for ‘William’ and denotes that it was a personal message written by the Prince, who shares the account with Kate.
The Prince is a lifelong fan of Villa and has watched several matches this season, sometimes also taking along George.
Prince William cheers and applauds during the Europa Conference League semi-final first leg between Aston Villa and Olympiakos at Villa Park on May 2, 2024. Villa lost the match 4-2
Prince William and Prince George look on alongside Aston Villa player Tyrone Mings (right) during the Europa Conference League quarter-final against Lille at Villa Park on April 11, 2024
On May 2, William was spotted cheering on Villa against Olympiakos in the Europa Conference League semi-final first leg.
He was also seen talking to friends in a private seating area before the game before reacting and gesturing throughout the first half of the match.
One picture showed him enthusiastically celebrating a Villa goal which was later disallowed for a foul in the build-up.
The previous month on April 11, William and George attended Villa’s 2-1 win against Lille in the first leg of the Europa Conference League quarter-final.
This was their first public outing since Kate’s cancer announcement in March.
William has supported Villa since he was at school, and in 2006 became president of the FA. He also regularly attends England matches and FA Cup finals.
Speaking about his love of Villa to the BBC’s Gary Lineker in May 2015, William said: ‘A long time ago at school I got into football big time. I was looking around for clubs.
Prince William and former Aston Villa player John Carew cheer at Villa Park on April 10, 2018
Famous fan Prince William celebrated Aston Villa’s achievement on social media last night
‘All my friends at school were either Man United fans or Chelsea fans and I didn’t want to follow the run of the mill teams.
‘I wanted to have a team that was more mid-table that could give me more emotional rollercoaster moments. Aston Villa’s always had a great history.’
The Prince said he has friends who support Villa and one of his first FA Cup games was against Bolton Wanderers in 2000, which Villa won but went on to lose to Chelsea in the final.
He added: ‘It was fantastic, I sat with all the fans with my red beanie on, and I was sat 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.’
Speaking in February 2020, William also said: ‘People like Paul Merson were playing and I thought if people like him can play as well as he does, knowing the struggles he was under at the time… this is a club I can support.
‘I was also born in ’82, the year we won the (European) Cup, so I feel the history and pedigree around Villa has always been quite close to me.’
In addition, the Prince often tweets about football and last month also posted a message congratulating the Lionesses’ Rachel Daly on her retirement.