William's bitter-sweet moment: Prince greets players on the pitch at the FA Cup final... after his team Aston Villa were knocked out in the semi-final
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- Prince William was in attendance at Wembley Stadium to watch the FA Cup final
- His royal highness shook hands with each starting player before kick-off
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Prince William returned to the scene of his FA Cup semi-final heartache on Saturday as he graced Wembley for the final between Crystal Palace and Man City.
His beloved Aston Villa fell to the south Londonders at the penultimate hurdle last month but that didn't stop the Royal from warmly greeting the mascots and then the players ahead of the showpiece event.
The Prince of Wales, 42, shook hands with all the players from both teams as they lined up before the national anthem echoed around 'The Home of Football'.
Of course Prince William had to suffer from a distance at the end of April as he was unable to witness the 3-0 loss first-hand, instead attending the funeral for the late Pope Francis in Vatican City.
He played a central role ahead of kick-off between Palace and City and he is set to hand over the winners medals after the game, just as he did for Man United's triumph over their local rivals last year.
Having previously served as the FA's president for 18 years, Prince William inherited the role as patron of the FA from his late grandmother - Queen Elizabeth II - last summer.
At last year's final, Prince George joined his father to watch United's success, and even got the chance to meet legendary manager Sir Alex Ferguson, as well as City star Jack Grealish.
Prince William is a keen football fan and has fronted many bids with the FA for England to host major tournaments - with Wembley as their prestigious home.
He has also attended several Villa games this season, including taking his son, Prince George, to Champions League nights at Villa Park.
Last year, the future monarch was spotted enjoying a pint of cider with Villa supporters at a Wetherspoon's pub in Birmingham New Street Station.
Prince William previously revealed his affinity with Villa - a Birmingham based club - has unorthodox origins.
He explained to the BBC in 2015: 'A long time ago at school, I got into football, big time. I was looking around for a club to support, and all my friends at school were either Manchester United fans or Chelsea fans.'
Determined not to follow a 'run-of-the-mill' team, Prince William opted to support Villa.
In a recent interview with The Sun, the prince also revealed he had a 'nice connection' with the club as they lifted the European Cup in 1982 - the year in which he was born.
Prince William confirmed that family friends who were 'big Villa fans' took him to one of his first FA cup games at the age of 17.
It was the semi-final between the Bolton Wanderers versus Villa at Wembley Stadium on April 2, 2000 - a match that certainly would have set the prince's heart racing.
The agonisingly close game went into penalties when Villa thankfully emerged triumphant, winning 4-1.
On Saturday, though, his appearance in the capital was strictly formal after Villa were eliminated last time out against Palace.
But Prince William will undoubtedly be excited about how his side are faring in general nowadays.
The Villans are coming off a 2-0 win against Tottenham on Friday, and could qualify for next season's Champions League if they beat United on the final day of the season and Chelsea drop points.
