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Prince William just wore the most apt outfit to visit favourite football club

And it was noticed by the club manager!


william aston villa© Photo: Getty Images
Danielle Stacey
Online Royal CorrespondentLondon
May 4, 2021
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It's not just royal ladies who love a bit of literal dressing, the Duke of Cambridge appeared to pay homage to his favourite football club during an outing on Tuesday.

Prince William, who is a keen Aston Villa fan, wore the club's colours – a claret jumper and a blue shirt – for his visit to its High Performance Centre.

As the future king, 38, met the squad and coaching staff, he was told by the club's manager: "You've got the right colours on today," to which William replied: "Absolutely."

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WATCH: Prince William visits his beloved football team Aston Villa

Later in his speech, the Duke paid tribute to Aston Villa manager Dean Smith's late father, Ron Smith, who died after contracting COVID-19 last year.

William said: "As you know, Aston Villa is very close to my heart and I'm very delighted to be here today. I'd like to pay particular tribute to one man, for whom Aston Villa has always been in his blood.

"Last year, head coach Dean Smith tragically lost his father - a lifelong Villa fan, a matchday steward, to Covid-19.

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william meets aston villa players© Photo: Getty Images

William meeting Aston Villa players

"His loss is just one of the many ways the pandemic has impacted the club over the last 12 months.

"I want to offer my sincere condolences to Dean and pay tribute to his extraordinary contribution to the club since joining in 2018.

"I know your dad would be very proud.

"I'm immensely proud to be associated with a club that does so much through the Aston Villa foundation in support of the community, especially through the pandemic as we've heard today.

"I can't think of a cooler place than Villa Park to be vaccinated - unless you're a Birmingham City fan."

william opens aston villa centre© Photo: Getty Images

The Duke officially opened the club's new High Performance Centre

During his visit to the centre, William heard more about the football club's community outreach and support initiatives, run through the Aston Villa Foundation.

He met representatives from projects, Villa Vision and TeamWork, as well as catering staff from Villa Kitchen, a project which produces approximately 1,000 hot meals a week, which are then distributed to local groups and organisations.

William also heard about the community antenatal clinics that began operating from Villa Park in March 2020, after GP surgeries were no longer able to host clinics as a result of the pandemic.

The Duke has previously explained why he supports Aston Villa, despite not being from the Midlands, telling Gary Lineker in 2015 that the decision dates back to his childhood.

The Prince revealed: "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. I wanted to have a team that was more mid-table that could give me more emotional rollercoaster moments."

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