Prince William bought a round of drinks as he talked football with fellow Aston Villa fans in a pub

And William - who has Prince George, 11, Princess Charlotte, nine, and six-year-old Prince Louis with wife Catherine, Princess of Wales - impressed the group with his knowledge of the sport and "passion" for their club.

Steve Jones, 56, who has supported the club for 35 years, was quoted by the Daily Telegraph newspaper as saying: "We were contacted by the club saying Prince William wanted to meet a delegation of Villa fans as he was in Birmingham as he wanted to keep in the loop with everything going on at Villa.

"He was fantastic. I was quite amazed about how engaged he was with the club, his interest. He's not a fairweather fan. He really loves the club with a passion.

"We spoke about the club, the transfers, the pending Champions League trip to Monaco, and all things Aston Villa.

"He was massively interested and seemed like a really genuine guy. All he wanted to do was talk about Villa.

"He said he was hopeful about beating Everton tonight and would be watching but was wary about new manager syndrome, or rather old manager syndrome."

Daniel Jones, 18, a sixth form college student praised the prince as a "lovely guy, proper down to earth" who "loves Villa and the passion we all share".

He added: "I think if he didn't have other commitments he would have loved to be at the match."

William told the fans that although George also loves Villa, he doesn't want all three of his children to support the same team.

Earlier in the day, the 42-year-old royal had referenced the game while addressing paramedics at the inaugural Emergency and Critical Care Conference.

He joked: "It's great to be back in Birmingham, and for any fellow Villa fans with us today - I look forward to celebrating our win over Everton later."

And on arrival to the engagement, he told staff he would be "watching the game and keeping an eye on what's going on".

Sadly for the prince, Everton - who have just seen David Moyes return as manager - won the game 1-0.