Daddy, it’s Five-one!
George, six, is Villa’s new lucky mascot in goal romp
FOOTBALL-MAD Prince George beamed in delight as his beloved Astonvilla scored a goal during their 5-1 thrashing of Norwich City yesterday.
The six-year-old attended his first live football match with his parents, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, and his younger sister Charlotte.
Wearing a claret Aston Villa T-shirt with a picture of a football on it front, George could not contain his excitement and regularly jumped up from his seat asvilla slotted the ball past the Canaries’ goalkeeper.
At one point, his father William – who is president of the Football Association – appeared to be trying to contain his son’s enthusiasm for the game.
William, 37, is a lifelong fan of the Midlands club and sat next to his eldest son during the match at Carrow Road, chatting animatedly throughout.at one point, his wife Kate, also 37, leaned over and laughed as young George broke out in a gap-toothed grin.
Charlotte, four, seemed a little less taken by the game, however, and there was no sign of 17-month-old Prince Louis.
By half-time the visitors, who were promoted to the Premier League along with Norwich last season, were 4-0 up.a late consolation goal for the home side three minutes before full-time did not dampen George’s spirits and ensured the young royal had a memorable introduction to live football.
Villa supporters – who last enjoyed a win five games ago – branded the Prince their “lucky mascot” and asked if he “could come and watch us every week”.
Gary Lineker tweeted: “Think Prince George has caught the football bug early.” The club also tweeted pictures of “the next generation ofvilla royalty” in the stand and said: “You know how to pick your #AVFC games,your Royal Highness.”
In 2015,William revealed he would “love” to attend football matches with his son but said he would have to “pass that by the missus”.
The Duke told how it would be “fantastic” if his then 22-monthold son decided to followvilla as well, but he added: “It’ll probably end up being that Charlotte is the Villa fan.”
William also spoke about one of the first FA Cup games he ever attended – Villa’s semi-final against Bolton in 2000, where he “sat with all the Brummie fans and had a great time”.