Prince William worried about Aston Villa survival hopes, says former FA vice-chair
Ex-Manchester United chief executive David Gill said the future king is concerned about his beloved team's run of form.
Tuesday 14 January 2020 18:24, UK
Prince William is worried about Aston Villa's Premier League survival hopes, according to the former vice chairman of the Football Association.
David Gill said the future king expressed his concerns to him while he was collecting a CBE at Buckingham Palace.
"I've been lucky enough to meet [William] a few times and talk about football, he was more worried about Aston Villa," the former Manchester United chief executive said.
Mr Gill, who collected the CBE on Tuesday for his services to football, added: "We had a nice chat about football, he's a keen follower of it."
The Duke of Cambridge is known for being a longtime Villa fan, and was pictured attending a match against Norwich City with his family last year, which his team won 5-1.
But the Birmingham side have struggled of late and face a relegation battle as they currently sit 18th in the Premier League.
Aside from Mr Gill, the prince handed a number of awards to other stars on Tuesday, including former England cricket captain Sir Andrew Strauss and rapper MIA.
It came a day after William held talks with the Queen, the Prince of Wales and the Duke of Sussex over the latter's wish to stand down as a senior member of the Royal Family.
The Queen said the talks were "constructive", but added there were still "complex matters" to be resolved.