Surprise, surprise, Prince William went to another football match last night and he brought Prince George again, same as last week. This was the “second leg” of the Aston Villa vs Paris Saint Germain quarterfinal for the Champions League. The first leg was played in Paris last week and it was a good match for PSG. Last night in Villa Park, it was a better night for Aston Villa, but PSG is still the team heading to the semifinals.
Paris Saint-Germain have advanced to the Champions League semi-final for the second straight season after defeating Aston Villa 5-4 on aggregate.
Having won the first leg 3-1, the French side increased their lead to 5-1 in the opening half hour at Villa Park through goals from Achraf Hakimi and Nuno Mendes. Even after the hosts pulled a goal back before half-time through Youri Tielemans, PSG still looked certain to advance.
That certainty was shattered early in the second half as John McGinn and Ezri Konsa each scored in the space of two minutes to cut Villa’s deficit to 5-4. The hosts then created several big chances to equalise but couldn’t find one more goal, leaving them just short of completing a miraculous comeback.
PSG will face the winner of Real Madrid vs. Arsenal in the semi-final. The English side hold a 3-0 lead heading into Wednesday’s second leg at the Bernabeu.
Basically, Aston Villa actually won this stand-alone match, but because the scores are pooled from the two matches, PSG won overall, 5-4. Which means that yet again, William is a jinx! He was in full “football hooligan” mode last night, screaming and raging out in tons of photos. George was seemingly absorbed in the game, but his view of the pitch kept getting blocked out because other people kept standing up in front of him. One nice thing is that it looks like there was another kid in the group and the kid looked close to George’s age. Probably the son of one of William’s buddies, I would assume. Did someone finally figure out that it looks really bad to keep forcing George to go to these events where he’s the only kid in the group?
Photos courtesy of Getty.
At least poor George wasn’t in a suit.
Such a hard worker, our Pegs!!!
At least this (might) mean they’re back in England? and at least george (again, might) have gotten to take a friend this time?
Why does he wear the same outfit to all these games? Is that blue coatigan his new blazer? Why not wear some villa gear, its not like he’s there on behalf of the FA and needs to appear impartial.
It must be his week with the kids.
He does not take the younger two. Maybe only George stays with him
I always think this! Where are the other two? Why can’t they come? Maybe it’s not a thing for them and they don’t care? I’m not a prince(ss) but my grown kids remember even the slightest thing they feel was favoritism and will bring it up when they get together. “Mommie took you to the dr that time and you got a banana royale from BR”!!
At their age, I’m sure Charlotte and Louis would love to go. Indeed, George was about their age when Peg starting bringing him along.
I think he just only wants to take George.
With all their losing when he’s present — the team may want Willy to stay away.
For those of you wondering why William doesn’t take the other children to these events, I hear that the standard Windsor excuse is, as ever, there’s not enough room in the plane for Charlotte. And, poor Louis will just have to start saving his allowance because William simply cannot afford the price of tickets for him AND George. Sorry children.
I see Hugh Grosvenor sitting in front of Peg. Is that a snub to Prince Harry?? And why doesn’t Peg take Louis to a match?
And Charlotte. Girls like sports too.
Wonder if they took his private plane from France for the game….
Duke of Westminster and his wife next to William
I have to give it to him, he’s really doubling down on the I’ll work when I feel like it era. Unless he plans to do an engagement every single day for the month and a half leading up to trooping (LOL), they are really milking these Easter holidays. And yet crickets.
i mean, I admit it, i’m impressed by how blatantly lazy they are. and kind of jealous, lol. just vacation after vacation, not worried about money thanks to the duchy, and honestly not even the bare minimum of work.
That’s something that QEII understood and Charles does too – that the public is okay with this family living in total luxury because there all these other trappings around – they really played up the whole gilded cage aspect of royalty. sure, charles has multiple grand estates and someone to cater to his every whim but his life has been played out in public and he works endlessly.
William and Kate are just like, meh, our lives are completely private and you’re entitled to nothing and we’re not going to work either but we’ll keep the grand estates.
And there can be a discussion about the merits of the privacy aspect there, right? Or about how much is actually public or what the public has a right to know. QEII lived a very public life but also had a private life that was pretty closely guarded. Over the decades more and more has come out but most of what we know is because it was also public – the queen loved corgis and horses, for example. But one of her PR skills was that people felt they knew her and related to her without knowing her at all. I think W&K are trying to pull that off but its not really working. And I’m not even factoring the kids into this, just how W&K themselves are.
but anyway it really is astounding how little they do and how quiet the “we pay you pose” people are .
Excellent post, Becks. Are you sure you don’t live under the British constitutional monarchy? You know more than some of us!
Are there usually this many AV games during the easter break? Is he always secretly going to these games and just now being blatant about it or are they just having a good year? It makes me wonder if the scout video of Kate was always intended to be dropped around this time to distract from all of William’s FB watching. Or they just brazenly don’t care.
I’m not sure about Villa’s history in the champions league, but the reason there seem to be so many games right now is bc Villa got fairly far in the Champions league (these were the quarterfinals and it was two matches, not one as we might expect in the US) and they are also playing their regular schedule in the EPL. In general if you follow premier league soccer it feels like you can always find a match being played.
for example we are tottenham supporters. They played last Sunday in league play, they’ll play tomorrow as part of the champions league. and then play again Monday as part of league play.
Aston Villa is still in the FA cup so they also have games for that. So they have a league game Saturday, a league game tuesday, an FA game 4/26, et. so in the next 10 days they have 3 games.
I just think they brazenly don’t care.
Agreed he’s basically telegraphing what his reign will be like. He will do as he pleases and no one can stop him. The press and the courtiers have really boxed themselves in here.
at least George had someone his own age there.
I’m sorry but his soccer fan cheering looks far too much like Jack Nicholson in The Shining… it is very creepy looking.
Williams teeth look larger with that beard.
It’s official: SLW is bad luck for this team. They need to soft ban him or something, cause if he’s not going to be an actual global statesman,(His real job tbh), he should be a good luck charm. He’s a failure at everything it seems.
Totally agree. If I were also a fan of this team, I’d be annoyed every time he showed up.
I think the younger two stick together and children can resent one child getting to go to a game and they stay home. William said the younger ones watch on tv. Just wht does he keep them away if they watch it on tv and show interest.
The comments on the BM are getting more and more scathing about PW’s work ethic. Sure, you still see “how lovely he gets to relax after last year,” but those posts are often riddled with negative replies and I have to wonder how many were paid posts in the first place.
Does Charlotte not like football? I see no reason why she can’t go with them? Plus is William going to this game the reason why KP pulled out that Kate video?
The younger children like the sport according to william
Yeah, i can see leaving Louis at home, especially since it seems william is going for the game and is completely focused on it. but why not charlotte? she’s 10 in 3 weeks, if she can sit through Wimbledon, she can handle a football match. If she wasn’t interested then I’d say whatever, but William has told us she’s interested, that she likes soccer, that she watched the game from home (or the villa I guess.)
So why not take her?
According to their parents, the children like everything, especially if they can mention it in one of their rare work days (remember one of Louis’s first words was Mary Berry or something like that). So I don’t put much stock in them saying Charlotte “likes” anything in particular. It was clear to me that the video of him and Charlotte rooting for women’s soccer was William using Charlotte as a shield, as these two tend to do, use the children as shields and buffers. George obviously enjoys soccer though.
But Charlotte was put in a video to deflect–William was getting criticized for not going to the women’s final game.. she never has attended games with her father. George has gone many times, Charlotte never. I believe Charlotte does like sports. I think Charlotte would enjoy soccer but never gets asked to go by her father. I think George gets more attention than Charlotte and Louis by their father. Charlotte would perhaps feel happy if she went to a game. She apparently has not even been given a chance.
Maybe William can’t manage more than one child at a time.
@HeatherC that’s the rub, right? I have no idea if Charlotte actually likes soccer or if she was just used in that video as deflection from criticism (or both.) Maybe she has no interest in soccer or is a Man City supporter or something, lol. But based on what the Waleses have told us, and what William has told us, she DOES like soccer and is interested in it and was watching the game from the villa – so why has she not gone to at least one of these games?
They might be lying and she might hate soccer and have zero interest in going and that’s why she’s not there. but then their own PR is hurting them, you know? Because now people are wondering why she’s not there when KP/William/Kate have told us how much she likes it. Their lies ( if that’s what they are) just make them look bad.
He was certainly happy to trot out Charlotte when he had to make a video for the Lionesses. You know, because she’s a girl and it’s a girl’s team🙄.
He never takes her to girls team matches.
Once again his charities must be thrilled that he happily makes the time for footie but not them
Also fail commenters noticing that he only takes George.
It’s giving separation and William has custody of his heir; Kate has custody of his spares.
Is it bad for early years for a father to favor one child over the rest
After seeing Ms “I’ll shoot pheasants but keep telling people to love nature” out and about doing other things if doing anything at all, it seems the concept of Airrly Yarrs has been put out to pasture.
Nah. It’ll cycle back around. I think they actually might pay people to do stuff with the center for early years bc they talk about how they held meetings even when Kate was sick and unable to join. So unless they’ve cut them, I’d imagine there will still be stuff once or twice a year.
Out to pasture because she has just lost interest or she has been invited to back off? Proper social scientists have already done the research, so no point really unless she is willing and able to put her money and hard work into the programs.
I think the photos of her picking up dead birds William shot is somewhere on the Internet plus her wielding a gun.
If William is getting dragged for these soccer jaunts is because he is one heartbeat away from the throne and he has not shown anything that says I am preparing for that role: interaction with the government that is allowed,for example. William not being appointed regent during Charles’ illness doesn’t offer assurances that the Crown will one day being in good hands. William is not outwardly preparing George for the job when it’s his turn. Other monarchs prepare their heirs much sooner.
Charlotte is directly next in line, then Louis. They do need some sort of preparation as well.
How awkward and sad is it that William and George never seem to interact with each other, sharing joy at goals, or dejection at losses, or any emotions really. Let alone William putting an arm around his boy. It’s just William screaming and waving his arms wildly as he stares at the players not George. At least George has a friend this time. Maybe it’s just the pictures we see here and everywhere else, but I’m just not seeing the father-son “bonding.”
I need a publicly funded job where I am only really expected to attend Buffalo Bills games. Maybe throw in some Sabres and Yankees so I’m busy all year.
Sitting there with his extreme ski tan while screaming at another sporting activity is a really bad look for an heir whose father is fighting cancer and yet travelling and working, however nominally. Especially after having been caught having multiple vacations and yet, no work done for weeks. Someone need to pull his chain. What a disgrace!
He supposedly is “close” to Charles (which I doubt), so he and Keen did not apparently make a fuss over the “anniversary” of C and C. They were elsewhere. Hopefully this will all catch up to William someday.
If it weren’t for W bringing George along, we’d get the focus on Kate’s consistent absence.
Speaking of football hooliganism, some Aston Villa supporters were arrested for doing monkey noises and nazi salutes at PSG supporters at full time apparently. What a great club, very on brand for William.
All play and no work makes William a very unserious global statesman. Oh wait, he never was one .
Hopefully each kid has their own activities they do with Baldimort out of media range and he isn’t showing obvious preference for the heir in private, but I doubt it. He has been so relentlessly toxic towards his younger brother, I dread seeing what Charlotte and especially Louis will be subjected to in the future. The family dynamics in the royal family are just so warped.