'William knows his stuff about Villa'

Prince William revealed on The Graham Norton Show that he posts anonymously on Aston Villa fan forums and studies the team closely.

Prince William made a surprise appearance on The Graham Norton Show where he discussed his lifelong support for Aston Villa. He revealed that he is active on some of the club's fan forums, posting anonymously about the team. The prince explained that childhood friends introduced him to Villa, joking that "it's probably worked" in getting him free tickets over the years.

Justin Hawthorne, who hosts the Justin Talks Villa YouTube channel, told BBC Radio WM that while he has seen the prince interviewed before matches and knows he is knowledgeable about the team, he would be unable to identify him from comments alone. "He would just come across as a very well read Villa fan," Hawthorne said. Friends who met William at a Wetherspoon pub in Birmingham last year described him as "a proper, proper fan" who studies the team and visits the training ground to watch them play.