- Prince William was in attendance at Wembley Stadium to watch the FA Cup final
- His royal highness shook hands with each starting player before kick-off
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Prince William returned to the scene of his FA Cup semi-final heartache on Saturday as he graced Wembley for the final between Crystal Palace and Man City.
His beloved Aston Villa fell to the south Londonders at the penultimate hurdle last month but that didn’t stop the Royal from warmly greeting the mascots and then the players ahead of the showpiece event.
The Prince of Wales, 42, shook hands with all the players from both teams as they lined up before the national anthem echoed around ‘The Home of Football’.
Of course Prince William had to suffer from a distance at the end of April as he was unable to witness the 3-0 loss first-hand, instead attending the funeral for the late Pope Francis in Vatican City.
He played a central role ahead of kick-off between Palace and City and he is set to hand over the winners medals after the game, just as he did for Man United‘s triumph over their local rivals last year.
Prince William is a keen football fan and has fronted many bids with the FA for England to host major tournaments – with Wembley as their prestigious home.
Prince William was at Wembley to watch the FA Cup final between Man City and Crystal Palace
The future monarch shook hands with every member of each team’s starting XI before kick-off
The Prince of Wales’ beloved Aston Villa were eliminated by Palace in the FA Cup semi-final
He has also attended several Villa games this season, including taking his son, Prince George, to Champions League nights at Villa Park.
Last year, the future monarch was spotted enjoying a pint of cider with Villa supporters at a Wetherspoon’s pub in Birmingham New Street Station.
