Which football teams do the royals support? Prince William’s Aston Villa love and late Queen’s surprising pick

The heir to the throne is a huge fan of Aston Villa, even watching his beloved team play in the Europa League on Princess Charlotte’s ninth birthday. William has made sure that George follows in his footsteps when it comes to his choice of team, and the youngster has joined his dad at their matches.

The Prince of Wales has supported the Birmingham-based club since his schooldays and in 2015 explained to Gary Lineker: “A long time ago at school I got into football big time. I was looking around for clubs. 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.”

The monarch is a keen fan of Burnley F.C. and revealed his love for the team while on a visit to the town; something that saw him rewarded with a season ticket from the Clarets. And during a 2010 visit to the town, he wore a lapel with the club’s logo.

Speaking about his support for the team, Charles revealed: “Burnley has been through some very challenging times and I’m trying to find ways of helping to regenerate and raise aspirations and self-esteem in that part of the world.”

Although the late Queen was famously neutral on many matters, it appears that she had a fondness for West Ham F.C., having reportedly supported the Hammers since the 1960s.

The revelation came after she overheard Palace staff discussing their favourite teams, with one naming West Ham’s arch-rival Millwall. A source told the Mirror: “She gave up her secret after overhearing one of her staff members saying he was a Millwall fan and was talking to another member of staff about the derby between West Ham and their arch-rivals. They were quite shocked – after all, she’s not exactly your typical West Ham fan.”

The Duke of Sussex is more a fan of rugby than football, but it appears that the royal is a supporter of Arsenal, and has previously claimed that most members of the royal family back the London-based club.

While her husband and eldest son are obsessed with Aston Villa, the Princess of Wales doesn’t share their love and is actually a fan of Chelsea F.C. The news was revealed by a child who met the royal during a charity event in 2015, as they said they high-fived the Princess because “she supports Chelsea and I support Chelsea”.

Even though he made his name in rugby, Mike is still quite the football fan and has divulged that he is a supporter of Leeds United.

Speaking to Gloucestershire Live in 2022 ahead of a charity football match, the husband of Zara Tindall said: “Well I’m from Leeds, so I used to go and watch Leeds play in 1995/1997. So I always say they’re sort of my club, I don’t follow religiously but I saw that they’re nine points clear of the relegation zone, that’s good.”

Beatrice is reportedly a fan of Man City and the royal reportedly started following the club while she trained for the London Marathon. A friend told the Star in 2010: “During training she watched a couple of City games and she was really excited. Bea’s talking about going to see them now and it looks like she’s becoming a real fan.”