Royal seal of approval! Jubilant Prince William cries tears of joy after seeing his beloved Aston Villa win the Europa League final in Istanbul to end their 30-year silverware drought – with their last trophy coming when he was 13!

Prince William was front and center in Aston Villa’s historic Europa League victory, celebrating with enthusiasm in the stands as his favorite team won 3-0 in Istanbul.

The Prince of Wales, one of the club’s most prominent fans, was seen punching the air after Villa won at Beşiktaş Park on the night they claimed their first major trophy in 30 years.

Youri Tielemans and Emi Buendia set the tone with two superb first-half strikes, creating jubilant scenes among the traveling fans, before Villa’s England star Morgan Rogers sealed the victory after the break.

William wrote to X after the final whistle: ‘Great night!! Huge congratulations to all players, team, staff and everyone associated with the club! It’s been 44 years since the last taste of European silver!

‘A special thank you to Boubacar Kamara, who was injured but was an integral part of our team and helped lay the foundations for this success.

‘UTV! VTID’.

Youri Tielemans and Emi Buendia set the tone with two superb first-half strikes before Villa completed the win by beating England star Morgan Rogers.

William looked emotional as he watched his team storm to victory at Beşiktaş Park

Earlier in the evening, William had made a pre-match visit to Villa’s dressing room and offered one last word of encouragement as Unai Emery’s side prepared for the biggest game of a generation.

Dressed in a smart suit jacket and blue shirt, he looked nervous at first as he made his way through the tunnel ahead of kick-off – but there was little sign of nerves as he applauded the Birmingham club’s famous victory as the action began.

Before the match against Germay’s Freiburg, defender Ezri Konsa said that William referring to him as ‘Rolls-Royce’ was the biggest compliment of his career and that he was grateful for the team’s support.

“It’s weird because on match day you focus so much on the game, so sometimes you get so caught up in the moment and you don’t realize how big of a deal it is for him to come in to greet everyone, shake everyone’s hand,” said Konsa, a Villa and England regular.

‘You go home and think: ‘Damn, I just shook his hand, he knows my name.’ It’s a huge thing and to have his support is great for the club and the players.

‘He once called me a Rolls-Royce. This stuck in my head. I’ll take this all day. It was really beautiful.

‘I’m sure he knows every player’s name… ever since I joined he’s shown unreal support, coming into the dressing room, greeting everyone and showing everyone the utmost respect. We owe him a big thank you for taking the time to come and watch and support us.’

The Prince of Wales had been vocal in his support for Unai Emery’s team ahead of the final and had issued a rallying cry on social media before the game: ‘Come on Villa! We wish you success in tonight’s Europa League final. UTV! W’.

This followed his passionate performance in the semi-final; Villa were punching the air with enthusiasm as they dispatched Premier League rivals Nottingham Forest 4-0 to take their place in Wednesday night’s showpiece match.

A passionate Villa supporter since his school days, William once described how he chose the club while studying at Berkshire, resisting the pull of more popular teams.

‘A long time ago I showed a great interest in football at school. I was researching clubs. “All my friends were either Manchester United fans or Chelsea fans and I didn’t want to follow ordinary teams,” he told the BBC in 2015.

Looking dapper in his suit jacket and blue shirt, William had a nervous expression on his face before kick-off.

It was Villa’s first major cup victory in 30 years and their first European cup victory in 44 years.

‘I wanted to have a more mid-table team that could give me more emotional ups and downs.’

William was born 26 days after Villa’s last European victory, when they defeated Bayern Munich to lift the European Cup on 26 May 1982.

‘Aston Villa has always had a great history. I have friends who support Aston Villa and one of the first FA Cup games I went to was Bolton v Aston Villa in 2000. “Unfortunately, Villa lost to Chelsea (in the final),” he said.

‘It was great, I sat with all the fans wearing my red beret and sat with all the Brummie fans and had a great time.’

‘It was the atmosphere, it was the camaraderie and I felt like it was something I could really connect with.’

It’s certainly been a tumultuous season; Villa opened the Premier League season on a five-match winless run, leaving them in the relegation zone.

But before Christmas the story changed dramatically, as an 11-game winning streak pushed them to the fringes of the title conversation.

While Unai Emery has quickly lived up to expectations, Villa’s journey to European glory this season alone stands as clear evidence of the resilience he has instilled in the team.