Prince William’s Heartfelt Confession: ‘This Was a Big Deal for Me’

Ever the fanatical football fans, Prince William and eldest son Prince George traveled to Paris to take in a match during George’s Easter break from school—but where was Kate Middleton (and, for that matter, George’s younger siblings Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis)?

Driving home the point that the kids come first, the Prince and Princess of Wales are currently on break from royal duty, spending time with George, Charlotte, and Louis as the three kids are on a break from school until April 24. The family of five often opt to head out to their beloved country home, Anmer Hall, in Norfolk for extended holidays like this; they very likely are there now, as opposed to their home in Windsor, Adelaide Cottage, where they live most of the time.

Unfortunately, the April 9 father-son outing didn’t end the way they’d hoped: William’s favorite soccer team, Aston Villa (which George has adopted an affinity for as well in recent years), lost 3-1 to Paris St-Germain (PSG) in a Champions League matchup. According to Hello!, William said that bringing George to “experience a night out away from home in a big competition” was a “big deal.” Speaking with TNT Sports, William cleared up where Kate, Charlotte, and Louis were.

Asked whether he would make his kids support Aston Villa, William said, “I’m generally very open to whoever they support, but obviously I’m a bit biased. But also they come to games with Villa. They’re going to probably support Villa, but I’ve left the other two at home, probably watching tonight, so we’ll wait and see who they support.” It can naturally be inferred that, instead of traveling to Paris with her husband and eldest son, Kate was home with Charlotte and Louis (and likely with the TV on).

The Prince and Princess of Wales took George and Charlotte to their first Villa game back in 2019; since then, George has become a bit of a soccer obsessive himself, even traveling to Berlin, Germany last year to watch the Euro 2024 final.

According to The Telegraph, last night’s game was “Villa’s biggest since they lost to Juventus in the European Cup quarterfinal in 1983.” William agreed that it was a big matchup, telling TNT Sports, “I thought, ‘It’s been 43 years since anything like this has happened in my generation as a Villa fan, and I want George to experience a night out away from home in a big European competition.’ I hope it’s not 43 years the next time it happens!”
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“But I think those memories are really important to create, and bringing him along tonight is a big deal for me,” he added.

Elsewhere he said of the match, “Well, I’ve got my son here as well, so I’m on my best behavior,” per the BBC.