Prince William Attends FA Cup Final After Heartwarming Father-Son Soccer Moment with Prince George

Prince William Attends FA Cup Final After Heartwarming Father-Son Soccer Moment with Prince George

Prince William is kickstarting the weekend with an official appearance in his sportiest royal role. On Saturday, May 17, the Prince of Wales, 42, stepped out to attend the 2025 Emirates FA Cup Final between Crystal Palace and Manchester City at Wembley Stadium in London. William went as Patron of the Football Association (FA), soccer’s governing body in England and an elevated royal role he took on in July 2024.

Prince William, an avid soccer fan, presented the trophy to the game’s victor: Crystal Palace, who earned their first major trophy in the team’s history. The 2025 Emirates FA Cup Final is the oldest national soccer match in the world and is considered to be one of the sport’s most prestigious competitions.

At the game, Prince William watched the action from the stands, shook hands with players from both teams and took part in the trophy presentation.

The match between the two Premier League teams comes a few weeks after Prince William and his elder son Prince George, 11, were animated fans in the stands at Aston Villa’s Champions League quarterfinal against Paris Saint-Germain at Villa Park in Birmingham, England.

The father and son appeared to feel every emotion during the game for their go-to team, where they sat with Prince George’s godfather, Hugh Grosvenor, the Duke of Westminster and one of Britain’s richest people, and his pregnant wife, Olivia Henson.

Though Villa took the lead 3-2 to the final score in the second leg, the squad was knocked out of the Champions League as Paris Saint-Germain won 5-4 on aggregate following the first leg, which Wiliam and George traveled to France to see. There, the royal dad sweetly revealed it was a “big deal” for George to be at the big game with him from a fan perspective.

“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,” Prince William told TNT Sports, referring to the team’s first European quarterfinal in over 40 years.

“I hope it’s not 43 years until the next time it happens, but I think those memories are really important to create and to bring him along tonight is a big deal for me.”