I got a call from Aston Villa asking if I wanted to meet the future King of England at a train station Wetherspoon’s.
No, this is not a set-up line to a gag, nor a conversation with a large dollop of irony. It happened.
William, Prince of Wales, the next in line to the throne, asked to meet a group of Villa supporters for a midweek pint. It was Steve Jones, the chairman of Chasetown Football Club, who was tasked with making it all happen.
Two days after, Jones meets up with The Athletic to recall a Wednesday afternoon like no other. Over a Bulmers cider and for 45 minutes, the prince joined eight other Villa supporters to talk all things Unai Emery, his players, and their Champions League run.
William, 42, realised he would have an hour and a half to kill after attending the College of Paramedics’ inaugural emergency and critical care conference in Birmingham and making a speech that paid tribute to the country’s paramedics. An idea came to mind – what would be better than a midweek drink talking football?
The prince knew there would be pockets of Villa supporters at the station before heading to Merseyside later that afternoon. His aides contacted Villa, asking if they could arrange a group of supporters to meet him inside Birmingham New Street station and, just tucked around the corner of the entrance, where The London and Northern Western Wetherspoon’s pub was.
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