Prince William and Prince George made a rare trip to Camp Nou in Barcelona this evening to watch Aston Villa play FC Barcelona. The outing drew extra attention because George’s appearance came after he began school at Eton, where classes are on break through Sunday, November 8.
Before kickoff, Joan Laporta met the pair and gave them a personalized Barça shirt. The British royals then took their seats in a VIP box as the rain came down hard over the match.
Joan Laporta greets the royals
Laporta’s reception gave the visit a formal edge without turning it into anything like a state occasion. The VIP box also included Allan Simonsen, Amador Lorenzo, Pere Valentí Mora and Jesús Mariano Angoy, all in the same viewing area for the game in Barcelona.
Prince William has made this kind of trip before. Earlier this year, he traveled to Istanbul, Turkey, to watch Aston Villa play in the Europa League final, and he has been open about wanting his children to choose for themselves even as he brings them into the same football world.
Prince George and Eton
That is where George’s appearance stands out. His trip to Barcelona was his first public appearance since beginning school at Eton, and the timing fit the school break through Sunday, November 8.
William put the point plainly when he said, “I’m kind of hoping they’ll all find their own teams in time,” and added, “They don’t all have to be Villa fans…I’m trying not to be biased but obviously they see how passionate I am about it and they watch the matches with me.”
Aston Villa in Barcelona
William also said, “I’m trying to spread the love a little bit,” and, “They do have Villa shirts, and ask to come to games with me, but they have other shirts as well.” He added, “There’s been a bit of courting going on by other managers too.”
For now, the sharpest detail is not the rain or the box or even the shirt. It is that a father-son trip to Barcelona became a public marker of where George is in school life, and of how William is still trying to steer without deciding for him.
