Prince William looked ecstatic as Aston Villa won a prized place in the Premier League

Prince William looked thrilled as he watched his beloved Aston Villa get promoted to the Premier League after defeating Derby County in the £170million Championship play-off final at Wembley.

The Duke of Cambridge could not hide his joy as he saw his favourite team triumph in the Championship play-off final at Wembley. His Royal Highness leapt into the air and hugged former Aston Villa star, John Carew.

The heir to the throne has been a huge Aston Villa fan since his school days. William has attended several matches of the professional English football club in the past and has previously spoken about his passionate support of the Birmingham club.

The future king said in an interview in 2015 that he decided to support Aston Villa while at school because he wanted to be different to his friends who followed teams like Manchester United and Chelsea. William instead chose a "middle of the table" side that would give him "emotional rollercoaster moments" and a team he could connect with.

“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 Chelsea fans and I didn’t want to follow the run of the mill teams.”

“I wanted to have a team that was more mid-table that could give me more emotional rollercoaster moments.”

Aston Villa made their return to the English Premier League for the first time since 2016 after they won “world's richest game” by beating Derby County 2-1 at Wembley on Monday.