PARIS -- Heir to the throne and die-hard Aston Villa supporter Prince William was in the crowd once again to watch his beloved team play Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League quarterfinals on Wednesday.
The future king of England was clearly fully immersed in the first-leg game in Paris -- even before it started.
He hugged some of Villa's players -- including Marco Asensio and Marcus Rashford - as they came out of their locker room and he even spoke pre-game with match broadcaster TNT's presenters.
William also brought his eldest son, Prince George, to the game.
"Well, I've got my son here as well, so I'm on best behaviour," he told TNT.
"But I thought, you know what, it's been 43 years since anything like this has happened in my generation as a Villa fan, and I want George to experience a night out away from home in a big European competition.
"I hope it's not 43 years until the next one happens, but I think those memories are really important to create and bringing him along tonight is a big deal for me."
William -- arguably Villa's most famous fan -- was in the crowd for Villa's victory over Bayern Munich earlier in the competition and away to Monaco in January.
Television images from broadcaster Canal Plus showed him thrusting both hands in the air Wednesday, and then punching the air with his right fist, after midfielder Morgan Rogers gave Villa the lead in the 35th minute.
The score was 1-1 at half-time but PSG went on to win 3-1. Still, William said he retained hope Villa could turn around the quarterfinal tie back at home next week.
"A big night in the Champions League under the lights," read the post on the Prince and Princess of Wales' X account. "Not the result we wanted, but it's not over yet! Bring on the second leg at Villa Park!"
Information from The Associated Press was used in this report.