The Prince of Wales left no room for doubt - Aston Villa is his, and the whole of Birmingham knows it. While Aston Villa celebrated a four-goal thrashing of Nottingham Forest and a place in the Europa League final, Prince William was at Villa Park, and the cameras caught something rarely seen in a British heir to the throne: real emotion, real excitement, without royal restraint.

"Constant smile, shouts, applause, hugs with his neighbours," described one of those present. The goals came from Ollie Watkins, Emi Buendía and John McGinn (two). Under manager Unai Emery, English fans got a European final destination for the first time in 44 years. The prince did not hide that he is a fan - and from the real kind, not the ceremonial kind.

William's love for Villa goes back to his school days. "I wanted a mid-table team, one that would give me moments of high emotional intensity," he said once. That is a confession every Balkan fan understands - not everyone can support the biggest. Sometimes the choice is ethical, sometimes sentimental, but when it is real, it lasts. William watched his first match at 17 and has not missed a chance to be in the stadium since.

The senior member of the family who keeps the tradition is Prince George (12), already at the Champions League quarter-final in Paris in April 2025. Prince Louis (8), as the father himself admits, "supports about five different teams". That is the most honest description of a child's love for football - when you still don't know who you are, you accept everything.

William is also patron of the English Football Association, a role he inherited from Queen Elizabeth II. The institutional link is one thing. Villa is another - there his heart has no title. And tomorrow, when they play in the European final, it goes without saying that he will be in the front row. Even royal families have moments when they throw the protocols away. This was one of them.