This is the moment Prince William hugged fans and joked about dancing in the fountains as he celebrated Aston Villa's 'surreal' win in the Europa League final. The Prince was more than happy to revel in the occasion with fellow supporters, making the effort to mingle after first celebrating with his own clan.
Warm Embrace with a Fan
Footage shows one fan, Mat Kendrick, who hosts the Claret & Blue Podcast for Villa supporters, sharing a warm embrace with the future King. Leaning over a banister, they hug and slap each other's backs as William declares: 'What an amazing night.' Mat's co-host, Dan Rolinson, is behind the camera, and asks the Prince how he feels, to which he replies: 'Good.'
Pitch Invasion Temptation
As Mat points out a pitch invasion, William says: 'I was tempted to go down there, but I thought, "Let's let everyone else have their moment." This is about the players, the team and the fans. This is really important.' Tongue-in-cheek, Mat says: 'Who is this team? What's happened to our Aston Villa?'
Joking About Fountain Dancing
Another clip sees Dan jokingly ask William: 'Are we going to go dancing in the fountains together tonight?' The Prince gives a hearty laugh, before jibing to Mat: 'You lead the way, mate. I'll follow you.'
William's Band of Brothers
William had earlier in the night been treated like one of the lads by his 'band of brothers'. William's crew included old pal Ben 'Dawesey' Dawes, Thomas van Straubenzee, 43, and Edward van Cutsem, 53, one of the sons of banker Hugh and his wife Emilie van Cutsem, who William grew up with. In one particularly playful moment, Edward, alongside his son, Jake, was seen chatting and joking around with the future king before patting him on the head. The sense of familiarity is no surprise: Durham university graduate and former banker Edward is a godson of King Charles III and was a page boy at his wedding to Lady Diana.
Lost Voice After Celebrations
The Prince seemed to be paying for his antics on Thursday, when he appeared to have lost his voice as he arrived for a series of engagements in Cornwall. William was in a buoyant mood as he toured Nansledan in Newquay the day after watching his side roar to victory in the Europa League final in Istanbul. Wearing a blue shirt and claret tie in honour of the team he has supported since childhood, he was 40 minutes late and clearly still revelling in their success, joking about losing his voice and saying, 'I'm trying not to talk about it all day!'
Fan Interaction in Cornwall
One local in the crowd shook the prince's hand and said: 'I just thought I'd ask, did you have any sleep last night?' William laughed and replied: 'You might hear it in my voice. On best behaviour!'
The Podcasters' Encounter
The podcast pair who bagged a video with the Prince later reflected on the unforgettable encounter in an episode uploaded on Thursday. Mat said: 'We were actually in better seats than Prince William, we were about ten rows ahead of him. And I needed to go for a wee, so it turned into a bit of a selfie hunt. Bumped into Nassef Sawiris [co-owner of Aston Villa], so had a selfie with Big NAs, then saw [former footballer] Elmohamady, so had a selfie with Elmo. Then, out of the corner of my eye, there was His Royal Highness himself.'
Positioning for a Selfie
Mat described trying to position himself for a selfie with the Prince, but being told by his security detail that it wouldn't be possible, because one would inevitably lead to many. Dan recalls how, after the second goal, William was on his feet celebrating and pointed directly at the pair. Then, after around 45 minutes of soaking in the atmosphere after the final whistle, they looked back to see the Prince still in the box, and gave him 'another fist bump'.
Things Got Strange
The next part, the podcasters said, is when 'things got strange'. Mat said: 'He summoned us, as if to say "Come and have a chat," and he called us by name: "Mat, Dan!" And we were scrambling over seats trying to get there. So we went up to where he was in the director's box.' At that point, Dan pulled out his phone and asked whether he could record the video. In an extended version of the clip, Prince William admits he was 'more nervous' about the Nottingham Forest second leg than the final.
Afterparty Invitation
William also got an invite to the afterparty to celebrate Villa's 3-0 win over Freiburg to win the Europa League - their first European title since 1982, the year of the prince's birth. Star defender Victor Lindelöf's wife Maja shared an image of her partying with William with the caption: 'Going off the rails'. Her post also revealed that friends and family had danced and sang through the night in the team hotel with the famous trophy.
William's Social Media Post
William posted on X after the final whistle: 'Amazing night!! Huge congratulations to all the players, team, staff and everyone connected to the club! 44 years since the last taste of European silverware! Special shout out to Boubacar Kamara who has been out injured but is such an integral part of our team and helped lay the foundations of this success.' He finished the post 'UTV! VTID' using the abbreviated forms of 'Up The Villa' and 'Villa Till I Die'.
Pre-Match Visit
Earlier in the evening, William had paid a pre-match visit to the Villa dressing room, offering a final word of encouragement as Emery’s side prepared for the biggest game in a generation. Dressed smartly in a black suit and blue shirt, he initially cut a tense figure while making his way through the tunnel ahead of kick-off. But there was little sign of nerves once the action began, as he cheered on a famous - and relatively straightforward - victory for the Birmingham club. 'He's a classy guy, he was in the dressing room before the game,' Villa captain John McGinn said.
