“I got this call from Aston Villa asking if I would like to meet the future King of England at Wetherspoon's station.”
No, that is neither a fake gag nor a conversation with a big pinch of irony. It happened.
William, Prince of Wales, next in line to the throne, asked to fulfill a bunch of Villa supporters for a midweek beer. It was Steve Jones, the chairman of Chasetown Football Club – a team that plays within the Northern Premier League, Division One West, the eighth tier English football league system — who had the duty of constructing every little thing possible.
Two days later, Jones meets to recollect a Wednesday afternoon like no other. Over a cider from Bulmers, the Prince spoke to eight other Villa fans for 45 minutes about all things Unai Emery, his players and their run within the Champions League.
Jones shows Chasetown FC (Jacob Tanswell/)
Over sausage rolls and drinking coffee, Jones and his friend Darren Johnson attempt to reflect on a busy, incredulous 72 hours. They are die-hard home and away Villa fans with season tickets at the brand new 'Legends Lounge' at Villa Park, situated between the Trinity Road Stand and Holte End. Jones has sponsored players up to now and before switching places this season he sat in lounges where club directors sat.
“I got a call from Villa's commercial department,” says Jones, 56. “They wanted to know if I was going to the Everton game on Wednesday night, which I was. “They asked if I could meet anyone, but they desired to Don't tell me who at first. “Are they the owners?” I asked. “No, it’s a king and they want you to meet at this place.”
“I knew it could only be one person. Villa asked if I could get some fans together. I decided to bring my wife Julie, my son Daniel and the regulars to our lounge. I called each of them and said, “Look, are you available tomorrow before we go to Everton?” I would like to fulfill for a pint. I can't say why yet, but just trust me.”
“The dress code was a nightmare,” laughs Johnson, 54. “So we just showed up like we were going to soccer.”
Let's get the obvious question out of the way: How did this all happen? How did Johnson, Jones and their villa friends and family end up in the pub with Prince William?
The answer was a combination of luck and discreet planning. Coincidentally, the prince's schedule was fully booked on Wednesday morning. He would attend the College of Paramedics' first emergency and critical care conference in Birmingham and give a speech paying tribute to the country's paramedics.
When the official duties were completed and before he returned to the South, a gap appeared in his diary. William, 42, knew he would have an hour and a half to kill.
An idea came to mind. That's understandable too – what's better than a weeknight drink while talking football?
The prince knew there would be plenty of Villa supporters at the station before he set off for Merseyside later that afternoon. His aides contacted Villa and asked if they could organize a group of supporters to meet him at Birmingham New Street station and just around the corner from the entrance where The London and Northern Western Wetherspoon's pub was located.
Jones, his wife Julie and his son Daniel with Prince William (Photo courtesy of Steve Jones)
“He wanted it to be very understated,” Jones says. “He said: 'After I complete this engagement I want to meet some Villa fans'.”
Jones was told to reach at 2:30 p.m., but hating the delay and the small matter of meeting the heir to the throne, he didn’t arrive until 1:10 p.m. Nobody within the pub, neither staff nor patrons, knew in regards to the royal arrival.
“I had to find a decent table,” he says. “We went in and it was rammed but we got to the back where there was room. I started moving the tables so that there was enough space for us. Even though the pub landlord said we wouldn't be able to do it, we put together three tables and a mix of chairs – like we were going to your grandma's on Christmas Day. People wanted to use some of it, but we just put our coats over it.”
Strangely, one other group followed Jones and his friends in and commenced putting tables together. But with all due respect: They weren’t regulars in pubs. They preferred coffee and tea to beer and dressed elegantly, albeit in civilian clothes.
“One of these guys came up to us; They were his protection team,” Jones said. “They were happy that we got there early and picked that table. Every time a customer left, one of them would take over that spot or booth. When William showed up, we had no idea how many rank-and-file security guards there were. It was very subtle, which was great.
“We asked his team how we should approach him. They simply said, ‘He’s off duty, he’s here on his own time, so call him whatever you want, Will or William.’ There was no briefing – we could talk about anything.”
“He came in and he wasn't surrounded by a lot of security, just one of his aides,” Johnson said. “Bold as brass, he introduced himself, shook everyone's hand and said, 'Okay, shall we have a drink?'.”
Jones, right, and Johnson face The Athletic two days later (Jacob Tanswell/)
Although Prince William only attended his first game at Villa Park in November 2013 – in former owner Randy Lerner's private box – he has followed the club since childhood, together with his earliest experience as a fan being the FA Cup semi-final victory over Bolton Wanderers within the penalty shootout at Wembley Stadium in 2000.
The Prince makes every effort to follow every game and will probably be present in person every time his schedule allows. Last season he and his dignitaries entered the dressing room a number of times to wish Emery's team well. He is understood to most players and has been to Bodymoor Heath, Villa's training campus, to observe training sessions.
“The first question was why he got involved with Villa,” says Johnson. “He told us that certainly one of the individuals who sorted him and took him to high school was a Villa fan. They took him to his first game against Bolton. Will said that other than him and his son George, not one of the royals are fascinated with football.
“There was never a moment of boredom or an ungainly silence. No one around him sat with him or tried to listen. His eyes were at all times on us, he just talked to the table like a standard guy talking about Villa.
Jones and his son Daniel in conversation with the prince (Steve Jones)
“I asked him if he would watch the game against Everton later. He said, “Yeah, me and George are watching.” I made a joke about whether he would get the distant or whether Kate (his wife Catherine, Princess of Wales) would have the TV that night.
“George is a Villa fan and we asked about the other children. He said he wouldn't force a football team on them as long as it wasn't Chelsea because all the people around him were Chelsea fans.
The prince asked for it once Jack GrealishHe wore the number 10 shirt, received Christian Benteke's boots and became close friends with another former Villa striker, John Carew. If Grealish William was beaten in the second city derby against Birmingham City in 2019. William hand-wrote a letter of support that was addressed to the player's home. More profound: when Stiliyan Petrov, another former Villa captain, suffered from acute leukemia, The Prince behaved similarly.
“He had extensive knowledge of Villa,” says Jones. “We touched on a few topics and he was very eloquent. He didn't have to look up to his helpers, he knew everything. WWe talked about the recent West Ham game and the changes Emery made in the second half. He started talking about double pivots and how Emery changed Youri Tielemans' position. We said “What?”
“He talked about possible transfers, who could leave and who could come. We talked about PSR (profit and sustainability rules) and Chelsea selling their women's team. He admitted he would really like to have more opinions on certain things in the sport, but he can't do this in his role as FA president.”
Prince William at Villa's win over Bayern Munich this season (James Gill – Danehouse/Getty Images)
As the subject of Villa turned in a single direction or one other, from PSR to Tielemans' playing skills, Prince William revealed certainly one of the more royally guarded secrets: In his free time, he frequently posts on online fan forums.
“He said he kept up to date with Villa gossip because he was on all the fan forums,” says Jones. “He goes by different names and posts because he gets a feel for what’s going on and what the opinion is.”
The Prince finished his pint and after three quarters of an hour a member of staff, who had been sitting, as Jones puts it, “quite a distance” from the Villa group, reminded him that his train could be leaving shortly.
However, he was in no hurry. The lack of urgency to maneuver was so great, and since he was engrossed in conversation, he needed to be reminded twice more that his train was quickly approaching.
“It was a liberation into normality,” says Johnson. “In the end he just said, 'OK, shall we take some photos?'. Everyone had one to themselves before a few group photos were taken. When he left we had another pint. It was a once in a million thing.”
image credit : www.nytimes.com