William’s band of Villains: How Prince celebrated his team’s cup victory in the company of some of his oldest friends

The final whistle in Istanbul last night gave Aston Villa their first major trophy in 30 years, but it also revealed an intensity of emotion never seen before in Prince William.

Face flushed, teeth clenched, fists trembling, the Prince threw himself into the air and bellowed to the heavens.

After wiping his tears, he threw his arms between the men wearing dark blue smart casuals who were watching the match next to him from the box.

So who were the fellow fans who had the unique experience of watching their team win, as well as live commentary from Windsor?

Some of the faces joining Wills at the lodge were familiar from previous trips to Villa Park.

Sitting to his right at the end of the row was Ben Dawes – better known as ‘Dawesey’.

Dawes, an old friend of William’s, started a wine business with his wife Pip and said he had recently tried to master padel ‘to give myself something to think about’.

To William’s left were Jake van Cutsem and his banker father, Edward van Cutsem, one of William’s closest childhood friends.

William was also invited to the after-event party to celebrate Villa beating Freiburg 3-0 to win the Europa League (their first European title since 1982, the year the prince was born).

Star defender Victor Lindelöf’s wife Maja shared a photo of herself partying with William with the caption ‘Derailing’. Her post also revealed that her friends and family were dancing and singing ‘Sweet Caroline’ at the team hotel with the trophy.

William later appeared with his arm to the left of Victor Lindelöf’s wife Maja at the Villa after-party, which he shared on Instagram with the Swedish phrase meaning ‘derail’.

William and his old friends went crazy after Villa took a 1-0 lead in the final last night

The future King was among Villa fans who saw the team win the European trophy for the first time since 1982, the year of his birth.

From left to right: Ben Dawes, Prince William, Jake van Cutsem, Edward van Cutsem

Some of those who joined William at the lodge were familiar faces from previous trips to Villa Park.

In a wider shot, William’s row appears to include (left to right) Ben Dawes, the Prince, Jake van Cutsem, his father Edward and Thomas van Straubenzee. Elsewhere in the box were believed to be the Prince’s college friends and other members of the Van Cutsem family.

Limbs were flying around William’s lodge throughout the evening, and William’s own wild celebrations were caught on camera

William wiped his tears as he watched his favorite team win in Istanbul

Edward and William became close friends after Edward’s father, Hugh van Cutsem, befriended the then Prince Charles at Cambridge University.

Edward is the godson of King Charles, and his brothers William and Nicholas are the godfathers of William’s sons Prince George and Prince Louis respectively.

The prince heralded Edward’s wedding in 2004 when his daughter married Lady Tamara Grosvenor, the older sister of Hugh Grosvenor, Duke of Westminster, who is William’s goddaughter.

Edward’s son Jake is just 16 and looks like he’s having the time of his life cheering on Villa.

Edward’s descendants included Thomas van Straubenzee, another childhood friend and one of Princess Charlotte’s godfathers.

Thomas was one of two men Prince Harry claimed were ‘real’ groomsmen at William and Kate’s wedding.

In his memoir Spare, Harry revealed that Thomas gave the traditional best man speech alongside James Meade.

Thomas’ relationship with the Windsor sisters dates back to his prep school days at Ludgrove.

Edward van Cutsem, third from left, on the balcony of Buckingham Palace, next to him, from left to right, Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, Lord Nicholas Windsor, Sarah Jane Gaselee, Catherine Cameron, Princess Diana, Clementine Hambro, the then Prince Charles, Queen Elizabeth II. Elizabeth, Prince Edward and then-Prince Andrew on Charles and Diana’s wedding day

Edward van Cutsem on his wedding day to bride Lady Tamara Grosvenor in 2004, with William as usher

Thomas van Straubenzee has been friends with Prince William since prep school days

He is the global head of estate agent Knight Frank’s private office and accompanied the Prince to New Zealand during his gap year.

The box was also believed to contain other members of the van Cutsem family and former college friends.

Integrating with the crowd, the men joined in enthusiastically with a passionate rendition of Sweet Caroline.

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’ uses shortened forms of ‘Up The Villa’ and ‘Villa Till I Die’.

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

Dressed smartly in a black suit and blue shirt, he initially cut a nervous figure as he walked through the tunnel ahead of kick-off. But there was little sign of nerves once the action got underway as they cheered the Birmingham club’s famous and relatively straightforward victory.

“He’s a classy guy, he was in the dressing room before the game,” Villa captain John McGinn said.

Villa completed the victory after England star Morgan Rogers scored in the 58th minute, sparking joy among fans as they claimed their first major trophy in 30 years.

Sixteen-year-old Jake van Cutsem had fun in the lodge

William was so excited at that moment that he felt obliged to catch it himself.

He is a huge Villa fan and would never miss this. It’s great to have his support and he’s just a normal guy. I hope this (support) continues and he can have a few drinks with us tonight and maybe pull out his credit card at the end of the night.’

Ahead of the match against German side Freiburg, defender Ezri Konsa said William referring to him as a ‘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 of 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; He was seen punching the air with enthusiasm as Villa dispatched Premier League rivals Nottingham Forest 4-0 to take their place in Wednesday night’s showpiece match.

A die-hard Villa supporter since his school days, William once told 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.

‘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.