Prince William Shocks Soccer Fans at a Local Pub — and Buys a Round!

Prince William joined fellow Aston Villa fans for a surprise pub get-together, raising a glass after his royal engagement ended.

On January 15, the Prince of Wales was named the new Patron of the College of Paramedics and came to Birmingham, England, for its inaugural emergency and critical care conference. It was his first royal duty of the year and came a day after his wife Kate Middleton announced she was in remission from cancer.

After a stop at a conference, where William met with paramedics, sat in on learning sessions and gave a speech about his commitment to supporting first responders in his new role, he stopped at a local pub.

The Prince of Wales, 42, organized a meeting of Aston Villa fans to coincide with his time in Birmingham (the Premier League side’s hometown) and treated them to a round of drinks at Wetherspoons before the football team’s game later that day.

Wetherspoon’s is a British chain with several branches in Birmingham, and the meeting took place at the Birmingham New Street train station location.

Prince William (second left) at the Wetherspoons pub in Birmingham, England on January 15, 2025.

Daniel Jones/PA Images via Getty

Prince William is stepping out for the first time since Kate Middleton announced she is in remission from cancer

“Prince William surprised pub-goers when he popped into Wetherspoons at Birmingham train station today. He arranged to meet a group of @AVFCOfficial regulars while in town to speak at the College of Paramedics conference and buy them a round,” Rebecca English from Daily Mail wrote on X.

“I think you have to be British to understand the cultural significance of the future king in ‘spoons!’ she added in another message.

The Daily Mail reported that Prince William drank a pint of Bulmers cider in the pub before taking the train back to London, and appeared to be at ease with his fellow Aston Villa fans in a video shared by English on X, where he posed for photos and even smiled for a selfie.

Steve Jones, a Villa supporter for 35 years, said the royal encounter came about after Aston Villa approached saying Prince William wanted to meet local fans during his trip to Birmingham.

Prince William at the Wetherspoons pub in Birmingham, England on January 15, 2025.

Daniel Jones/PA Images via Getty

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“The club contacted us saying that Prince William wanted to meet a delegation of Villa supporters while in Birmingham as he wanted to be up to date with everything going on at Villa,” Jones said, according to the media release. “He was fantastic. I was quite amazed at how engaged he was with the club, his interest. He’s not a fan of fair weather. He really loves the club with a passion.”

Jones, 56, shared that William was completely on board with the team’s latest updates, and even mentioned which of his kids are part of the fandom! The Prince and Princess of Wales are parents to Prince George, 11, Princess Charlotte, 9, and Prince Louis, 6, and William has brought George to several games over the years.

“We talked about the club, transfers, the upcoming trip to Monaco in the Champions League and everything to do with Aston Villa. He asked a lot of questions – he has a good level of interest,” Jones said.

Prince William, Patron of the College of Paramedics, at the inaugural Emergency and Critical Care Conference in Birmingham on 15 January 2025.

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“It was 95% of the conversation about Villa because it’s our mutual interest, but a bit about his family. Young George is a Villa fan but he didn’t want all three of them to be Villa fans,” he revealed, referring to Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.

Jones said the prince’s passion caused a sensation and he said he would be watching Villa’s game later that day.

“He was very interested and seemed like a really genuine guy and all he wanted to do was talk about Villa,” the fan said of William.

“He said he hoped to beat Everton tonight and would watch but was wary of new manager syndrome, or rather old manager syndrome,” he added, an apparent allusion to Everton’s leadership changes last week.

Aston Villa are due to play Everton in an away game at Goodison Park at 7.30pm local time on January 15, and William rallied for Aston Villa in his speech at the College of Paramedics’ Emergency and Intensive Care Conference.

Prince William, Patron of the College of Paradmeics, at the inaugural Emergency and Critical Care Conference in Birmingham on 15 January 2025.

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“It’s great to be back in Birmingham and for all the fellow Villa fans with us today – I look forward to celebrating our win over Everton later,” Prince William began, prompting laughter from the crowd in an English-language video shared on X .

The Prince of Wales is a loyal football follower and vocal Aston Villa fan — he even lost his voice at a game in the fall! The royal previously explained that he became a Villa fan because he wanted to support a team with an underdog feel.

Prince William (right) at the Aston Villa v FC Bayern match at Villa Park on October 2, 2024.

James Gill – Danehouse/Getty Images

“I got into big time football a long time ago at school. I was looking for clubs. All my friends at school were either Man United or Chelsea fans and I didn’t want to follow the established customs of the teams,” Prince William said of the background story, The Telegraph he reported in 2018. “I wanted to have a more mid-table team that could give me more emotional roller coaster moments.”

King Charles’ son is also chairman of the Football Association, the game’s governing body in England, and brought Prince George to a game at Villa last April.

Prince William and Prince George at the Aston Villa v Lille OSC match at Villa Park on April 11, 2024.

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A close source told PEOPLE that Aston Villa helped Prince William as both his wife Princess Kate and father King Charles were undergoing cancer treatment. (Princess Kate said in September 2024 that she had finished chemotherapy, and palace sources said in December that the king’s treatment was continuing this year.)

“He was extremely encouraged by Aston Villa’s results,” the source said of William. “You should not ignore the importance of football in these moments.”

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