17 September 2023 , 07:13
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Sport nut Prince Harry is said to be a fan of one of the north London giants of the Premier League - and all eyes will be on one particular fixture in December.
It has long been known Prince William, the heir to the throne, is an Aston Villa fan and has been seen at several games - most recently with his own children watching along. While his brother is more of a rugby fan, Harry has previously let slip he is an Arsenal supporter, admitting to being a Gooner to a pal at Twickenham years ago.
As their bitter spat continues to be played out in public they will both be wanting to keep an eye out on the result on December 9 when the two teams face each other at Villa Park. The same fixture last season ended up in a 4-2 drubbing by the north London giants as they fought for the Premier League title.
Prince Harry is said to be a GoonerHarry let slip his favourite team during his days as patron of the RFU and joined 12,000 fans at Twickenham Stadium to watch England’s open training session in 2017. At the time, Arsenal had just suffered a chastening 5-1 defeat at the hands of Bayern Munich. So when he admitted his favourite side, he grimaced and added : "I know, let's not talk about it.”
He is possibly not the only Gunner in the Royal Family as, during charity work in New Zealand several years ago, he said: “Most of the royal family are Arsenal fans.”
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As for why his older brother supports Villa, he told Peter Crouch’s podcast: “A long time ago at school I got into football big time. I was looking around for clubs. All my friends at school were either Man United fans or fans and I didn’t want to follow the run of the mill teams.
Harry admitted his choice of team at an England Rugby event (Getty Images)“I wanted to have a team that was more mid-table that could give me more emotional rollercoaster moments. Aston Villa’s always had a great history.
"I have got friends of mine who support Aston Villa and one of the first FA Cup games I went to was Bolton v Aston Villa back in 2000. Sadly, Villa went on to lose to Chelsea.
“It was fantastic, I sat with all the fans with my red beanie on, and I was sat with all the Brummie fans and had a great time. It was the atmosphere, the camaraderie and I really felt that there was something I could connect with.”
The prince’s late beloved grandmother is also said to have followed a team in claret and blue - European champions West Ham United. A source told the MIrror in 2009: “The Queen has never wanted people to know who she supports because she wants to be seen to be neutral. But she gave up her secret after overhearing one of her staff members saying he was a Millwall fan and was talking to another member of staff about the derby between West Ham and their arch rivals. “They were quite shocked - after all, she's not exactly your typical West Ham fan."
The King is said to be a fan of Vincent Kompany’s Burnley.