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.” The Prince who is a keen Aston Villa fan wore the club’s colours for his visit to its High-performance centre.
The second-in-line to the throne, an Aston Villa supporter, was seen laughing with players including captain Jack Grealish as he visited the stadium to find out about work being done in the pandemic.
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”
