When Kate Middleton shared the news of her cancer diagnosis with the world last month, she repeatedly mentioned her focus on her children as she received treatment, asking for “time, space, and privacy” for herself, husband Prince William, and their children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis. The news was revealed just before the children went on an extended holiday break from school, and the family has prioritized spending time together, including skipping the traditional Easter Sunday church service and luncheon with the royal family. That family time has also included one-on-one time between some members of the family, with William and George being spotted out at a soccer game Thursday evening.
The two were seen cheering on their favorite team, Aston Villa, in Birmingham, as they played against Lille OSC. The matchup was the quarterfinal for the teams’s conference.
George stood by his father with a scarf in the team’s color looped around his neck. Both wore navy ensembles to take in the game, and were seen clapping. They had good reason to cheer: Aston Villa won the match with a final score of 2-1.
Neil Moxley, a sports reporter for the U.K.’s Sunday People, shared on X (formerly Twitter) that he caught Prince William as he exited the stadium after the game and asked him if his son was “now part of the pride,” as Aston Villa fans call themselves.
“Oh yes, he’s loving it,” William reportedly replied. And of that winning 2-1 score, the Prince of Wales said, “Two-nil would have been better.”
The first and second in line for the throne were joined in the stands at some point by soccer player Tyrone Mings, who in June 2023 traveled with William to Sheffield in support of the prince’s five-year homelessness project.
Prince William is a longtime soccer fan, and has supported Aston Villa for decades, passing on the love of the team to his kids. He’s also the president of the English Football Association, which oversees all of England’s professional soccer.
The whole family are noted sporting enthusiasts, with Kate frequently participating in physical activity in past public engagements and sharing her passion for cold plunge swimming. Princess Charlotte is reportedly a fan of the Lionesses, England’s national women’s soccer team, and has gone to see them play, and even Prince Louis is “mad about rugby,” as Kate revealed in the past.
Kate has stepped back from public duties as she undergoes treatment for cancer, which was discovered after a “planned abdominal surgery” in January. King Charles III, too, revealed earlier this year that he has been diagnosed with cancer, and has cut back dramatically on his own public-facing work.