Aston Villa boss Unai Emery has revealed that Prince William joined players in the dressing room to celebrate reaching the Europa League final on Thursday night.
Villa set up a showdown with Freiburg on May 20 with an emphatic 4-0 victory over Nottingham Forest, having trailed 1-0 from the first leg.
John McGinn was the standout player, scoring twice, while Ollie Watkins and Emi Buendia also struck on a sensational night for the club.
William, who is the Patron of the Football Association, was seen cheering from the stands as his favourite team swashbuckled their way to victory.
And Emery, speaking after the game, confirmed the Prince of Wales got involved in the dressing room celebrations.
“He was in the dressing room with the players and with me, and of course, he is so happy as well," the Spaniard said.
Villa have, with each passing season, improved under Emery.
Aston Villa boss Unai Emery has revealed that Prince William joined players in the dressing room to celebrate reaching the Europa League final on Thursday night
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They endured a slow start to the current campaign but, with the club currently fifth in the Premier League, it's shaping up to be a season that will live long in the memory.
Emery was proud of the way his players performed on the night, though the 54-year-old warned they'll need to be at their best to overcome Freiburg in the final.
"As a professional I try to get balance," he said.
Prince William struggled to contain his joy as Aston Villa breezed past Nottingham Forest
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Ollie Watkins celebrates scoring for Aston Villa against Nottingham Forest
| REUTERS"Of course I knew before the match, there were two ways: one to lose, one to win.
"We were always looking forward in every situation. We can feel happy and proud, but we need balance as we still have the final to play.
"It's a 50/50 match. Freiburg are a good team, good players, good coaches and good competitive way. We are enjoying it. It'll be something fantastic."
While it was a sensational night for Villa, it was a disappointing night for Forest.
Vitor Pereira's men have come on leaps and bounds in recent weeks but, last night, were second best throughout.
Many had expected Forest to appear fresh and galvanised, having rested many key players for their 3-1 victory over Chelsea on Monday.
John McGinn netted twice as Aston Villa crushed Nottingham Forest's hopes of Europa League glory
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Instead, Villa produced a masterclass to reach the final.
Reacting to the result, Pereira said: "In the end, I'm proud of my team and players, proud of our supporters.
"We came here without conditions to compete for the final. We had one day fewer to recover. They tried everything but we didn't have the solutions.
"It's a tough result. It's a sad, difficult day but we need to look to the future for three days for Newcastle. I hope we don't have any more injuries as it's difficult to compete in this level.
"We need to come back again with energy. Today is a difficult day, but tomorrow but it's time to come back again as we don't have time to complain. To compete with Villa today, we needed fit players."
Freiburg, meanwhile, reached the final with a 3-1 victory over Braga. Lukas Kubler netted twice, while Johan Manzambi also struck to secure their involvement in the final later this month.