Prince William has wildly celebrated a historic victory for his beloved football club Aston Villa after the team secured its first major European trophy in more than four decades.
Villa defeated German side SC Freiburg 3-0 in the Europa League final in Istanbul on Wednesday night, with Morgan Rogers scoring the decisive third goal in the 58th minute.
The victory marked Aston Villa’s first major European title since winning the European Cup in 1982, the same year Prince William was born.
The Prince of Wales, 43, traveled to Turkey to support his team during the final and was seen enthusiastically celebrating throughout the match. Videos shared online captured William smiling, cheering and giving fans a thumbs up from the stands.
Ahead of the game, the royal shared a message of support on social media, writing, “Come on Villa! Good luck in tonight’s Europa League final. UTV!” – a reference to the club slogan “Up the Villa.”
After the win, William posted another celebratory message praising the club’s achievement.
“Amazing night!! Huge congratulations to all the players, team, staff and everyone connected to the club! 44 years since the last taste of European silverware!” he wrote.
The future king also gave a special mention to injured midfielder Boubacar Kamara, describing him as “such an integral part” of the squad despite being sidelined for the remainder of the season with a knee injury.
Prince William ended the post with the phrases “UTV!” and “VTID,” short for “Up the Villa” and “Villa Till I Die.”
Photos later shared by Aston Villa’s official social media accounts showed the prince smiling while holding the Europa League trophy alongside club members.