Prince George made a surprise appearance alongside his dad to watch the football in Paris on Wednesday night – and he caused quite a stir amongst excited royal fans. George, 11, stood next to Prince William in the stands at the aptly-named Parc des Princes to cheer on their beloved Aston Villa as they took on PSG in the first leg of the Champions League‘s quarter final.
Father and son were filmed enthusiastically celebrating together as their team took an early lead – but it wasn’t their night in the end, with French champions PSG coming back to win the game 3-1.
Unsurprisingly, all eyes were on the two future Kings, as well as the action on the pitch. And fans had plenty to say about William and Kate’s oldest child. First up, his height. Despite his age, George seems to have shot up in recent months, and looks set to follow in his 6ft 3in father’s footsteps – his mother Princess Kate is 5ft 9in.
Sharing a photo of William and George standing side by side at the match, one fan remarked on X: “Look at Prince George’s height! He is reaching his father’s. OMG he is only eleven!” A second added: “I can’t believe how tall George is getting!” And a third said: “Both his parents are tall, so he is very tall and handsome ( like his parents) it’s all in the genes!”
It wasn’t the only physical attribute that caught followers’ attention. Elsewhere, someone shared a side by side photo of Prince George and John Spencer, 8th Earl Spencer. “He is resembling Princess Diana‘s father,” they wrote, prompting a number of people to comment in agreement. “Madness how he is turning into a real Spencer,” one said. He definitely has the Spencer eyes. Handsome boy,” a second added. A third wrote: “He’s the image of his dad who is the image of his mum, so definitely a strong Spencer gene!”
Despite the disappointing result, William was clearly relishing spending time with George on the night. Speaking ahead of the game, the Prince said: “I thought: ‘You know what, 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 until the next one happens, but I think those memories are really important to create and bringing him along tonight is a big deal for me.”
William has been an avid supporter of Aston Villa for many years, and he previously explained how he landed on the Birmingham club in an interview with Gary Lineker in 2015. “A long time ago at school I got into football big time. I was looking around for clubs,” he said. “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. Aston Villa’s always had a great history.”
And while it’s clear that George has inherited William’s love of the club, the 42-year-old has insisted he will let his children pick their own teams. “I’m kind of hoping they’ll all find their own teams in time,” he previously said. “They don’t all have to be Villa fans.
“I’m trying not to be biased but obviously they see how passionate I am about it and they watch the matches with me. I’m trying to spread the love a little bit.”
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