Prince William won't be a neutral when Aston Villa play Arsenal in the FA Cup final this Saturday. When it comes to football, the Duke of Cambridge is a true claret and blue.

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"A long time ago, at school, I'd just got into football big time. I was looking round for clubs to support and all my friends at school were either Man U fans or Chelsea fans," Prince William told Gary Lineker in an interview to be broadcast ahead of the Cup final.

"I didn't really want to follow the run-of-the-mill teams, and I wanted to have a team that was more middle of the table, that could give me the more emotional rollercoaster moments. To be honest, now looking back, that was a bad idea! I could have had an easier time."

The Duke of Cambridge wants both his children to follow in his footsteps and support Villa: "The responsible thing would be to say, to let him make his own mind up, but I think I might be quite biased. I haven’t quite worked out how to play that yet. But, of course he can support whoever he wants, but if he supports Villa, it’d be fantastic. I’d love to go to the odd match with him in the future. It’ll probably end up being that Charlotte is the Villa fan, and George will go and support someone else."

Prince William will be handing over the trophy at Wembley this Saturday in his capacity as FA president. Sadly his son and daughter are too young to join him, and His Royal Highness says he'll have to check with "the missus" before he takes George to a game.

"I don’t know, I’ll have to pass that by the missus, see how I can get away with it," he told Lineker when asked when he would take his son to a match. "At the moment, being only 22 months, it’s a little bit early."

The full interview – the first broadcast interview he's given since the birth of Princess Charlotte – will be broadcast just before the FA Cup final at 5pm on BBC1.

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Watch a clip below (audio begins 30 seconds in):

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An image depicting a festive scene with iconic Christmas elements such as a beautifully decorated Christmas tree with twinkling lights, snow gently falling, and perhaps a cozy fireplace in the background. The image should capture the essence of popular Christmas songs, with musical notes and lyrics subtly included in the design, representing a playlist of classic Christmas tunes.

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Immediate’s iconic brands reach 21m people every month – that’s more than a third of the UK’s adults – through its world-class magazines, innovative digital products and exciting live eventsImmediate’s iconic brands reach 21m people every month – that’s more than a third of the UK’s adults – through its world-class magazines, innovative digital products and exciting live eventsImmediate’s iconic brands reach 21m people every month – that’s more than a third of the UK’s adults – through its world-class magazines, innovative digital products and exciting live events

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