Prince William and his eldest son George beamed as they presented the FA Cup to winners Manchester United – with the ecstatic team then jumping for joy as they celebrated their 2-1 win over Manchester City.
The royal football fans looked smart in matching navy suits, white shirts and striped ties as they watched the dramatic clash in a packed Wembley Stadium.
The Prince of Wales awarded the runners-up medals to members of the City squad, with George smiling as he shook hands with manager Pep Guardiola.
William, who is the Football Association’s president, then handed medals to the jubilant United team, including captain Bruno Fernandes and manager Erik Ten Hag.
The players proudly held up the trophy in front of the royals and cheered along with the roaring crowd as they took turns raising it into the air.
The father and son enjoyed the match alongside tens of thousands of fans from the Royal Box, and 10-year-old George looked animated as he experienced the highs and lows of the cup final.
Chatting in the front row of the box, the father-and-son duo laughed together as the game started. George shared a sweet moment with his father as he smoothed back his styled hair and William whispered in his ear
Before kick-off, the Prince of Wales walked onto the pitch to cheers from the crowd where the two teams were lined up.
Phil Foden looked delighted as he shook hands with William as they waited anxiously for the game to begin.
While Manchester City attacking midfielder gripped his hand and exchanged a few words he grinned hear to ear – with Erling Haaland smirking happily in the background as he saw his friend’s excitement.
But Foden’s delight was to be short lived – as United won 2-1 thanks to goals from Alejandro Garnacho and Kobbie Mainoo despite a late strike from Jeremy Doku.
Prince George could be seen on his feet and cheering in the stands as he celebrated the scores among elated fans.
Sitting alongside them in the box, Manchester United bosses Sir Jim Ratcliffe and Avram Glazer could be seen cheering wildly alongside legendary manager Sir Alex Ferguson.
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.
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.
William’s previous FA Cup appearances have not all been so smooth – in 2022 he was booed by thousands of fans ahead of the match between Liverpool and Chelsea.
Fans gesticulated and made obscene hand gestures while the solemn Prince stood singing God Save the Queen.
The outburst by thousands of fans shocked the nation and was denounced across the political spectrum – with Commons Speaker Sir Lindsay Hoyle saying: ‘I utterly condemn any fans who booed Prince William at Wembley today.
The jeers started during a rendition of the Christian hymn Abide With Me by the 60-strong B Positive Choir, whose members have sickle cell disease or who have close friends or family suffering from it.
It erupted again as Prince William was introduced to the crowd and began shaking the hands of the players. The booing and jeers reached their peak during the National Anthem.
Connor O’Neill, football writer for the Liverpool Echo, said Liverpool fans ‘are well known’ for booing God Save The Queen at Wembley and claimed that the reasons date from the city’s antipathy towards Margaret Thatcher’s Tory government in the 1980s.
Former BBC Royal Correspondent Michael Cole described the booing as ‘disgraceful and deplorable’ and called for the Football Association to take action.
He also criticised BBC football commentators for failing to even mention the Liverpool fans’ ‘repulsive behaviour’.
Last year – when the competition again came down to Man Utd and Man City – William shared a warm smile and a brief chat with Marcus Rashford before attention tuned to the pitch. He awarded the footballer with an MBE in 2021 in recognition of his campaign for free school meals.
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’.
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.
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.
