PA MediaThe Prince of Wales has visited a Wetherspoon pub to enjoy a pint with fellow Aston Villa fans, chatting about the club ahead of their upcoming match.
Prince William joined eight supporters around a group of tables at the Birmingham pub, before the fans, all season ticket holders, made the trip to the club’s away match at Everton on Wednesday.
He sipped on a pint of Bulmers cider as they chatted about their beloved club for around 30 minutes, though staff at the bar were tight-lipped about who paid for the round of drinks.
One fan said the prince was a “genuine bloke who really loves Villa” and that he also weighed in on the Premier League fixture, saying he “thought it would be a tough game”.
The pub trip was organised after the prince asked the football club to arrange a gathering with some die-hard supporters.
Daniel Jones, 18, a sixth form college student from Burntwood, Staffordshire, said the prince was a “lovely guy, proper down to earth” who “loves Villa and the passion we all share”.
“I think if he didn’t have other commitments he would have loved to be at the match,” he added.
John McEvoy, 64, from Solihull, who runs a catering equipment business, said: “William said a family friend took him to his first game – Villa against Bolton – and he’s loved the team ever since.
“He said he would be watching the match on TV tonight. He was just a really nice, genuine bloke who really loves Villa.”
Prior to visiting the London and North Western Wetherspoon inside the city’s Birmingham New Street railway station, the prince was in Birmingham to attend the College of Paramedics inaugural emergency and critical care conference, having been named a patron.
PA MediaA win in the match, which kicks off at 19:30 GMT, would move Aston Villa up to seventh in the Premier League table.
They face a stern test against Everton, who are 16th in the league, after the Merseyside club reappointed former manager David Moyes.
Mr McEvoy added: “William thought it would be a tough game tonight as (Everton) have got their old manager back and teams get a bounce when they have a change of manager.”
The prince is a lifelong Aston Villa fan and began supporting the club while at school.
“A long time ago at school I got into football big time. I was looking around for clubs. 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,” 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.”
Earlier this season, he lost his voice having been in the stadium for the club’s first Champions League home match in 41 years, which saw them beat German team Bayern Munich 1-0.
