Prince William Just Made an Impromptu Trip to Monaco Without Kate Middleton for an Unexpected Reason

The Prince of Wales jetted off to Monaco after completing a solo engagement in London.

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Prince William wears a light blue shirt with the top buttons undone
(Image credit: Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty Images)

It was recently reported that Kate Middleton, Prince William, and their three kids—Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis—embarked upon a skiing vacation in the Alps following Christmas. However, on Tuesday, Jan. 21, the Prince of Wales was spotted in Monaco without his wife or children.

Earlier today, Prince William had an official royal engagement in London, in which he visited homelessness charity Centrepoint. Just hours after his public appearance, the Prince of Wales jetted off to Monaco where he was photographed watching his favorite soccer team, Aston Villa, compete in the UEFA Champions League.

While Princess Kate and the couple's children weren't in attendance, William appeared to be joined by several friends. Unfortunately, Aston Villa lost to Monaco, meaning the royal traveled pretty far just to see his own team defeated.

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Prince William watches Aston Villa play football in Monaco with a group of friends

Prince William watches Aston Villa play soccer in Monaco on Jan. 21.

(Image credit: Aston Villa/Aston Villa FC via Getty Images)

Prince William has encouraged his eldest son, Prince George, to become an Aston Villa fan, and the pair have been spotted at many soccer matches together. However, the Prince of Wales recently revealed that he "didn't want" Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis to also become enamored with the soccer club.

After visiting the College of Paramedics Inaugural Emergency and Critical Care Conference in Birmingham on Jan. 15, Prince William met with a group of Aston Villa supporters in a pub. According to GB News, a longtime Villa fan called Steve Jones said of the Prince of Wales's visit, "It was 95 percent chat about Villa as that's our shared interest, but a bit about his family. Young George is a Villa fan but he didn't want all three to be Villa fans." Presumably, the royal is hoping his children will develop varied interests.

As for why William met with a group of Villa supporters in a pub, Jones told GB News, "We were contacted by the club saying Prince William wanted to meet a delegation of Villa fans as he was in Birmingham as he wanted to keep in the loop with everything going on at Villa."

Amy Mackelden
Amy Mackelden
Weekend Editor

Amy Mackelden is the weekend editor at Marie Claire, where she covers celebrity and royal family news. She was the weekend editor at Harper’s BAZAAR for three years, where she covered breaking celebrity and entertainment news, royal stories, fashion, beauty, and politics. Prior to that, she spent a year as the joint weekend editor for Marie Claire, ELLE, and Harper's BAZAAR, and two years as an entertainment writer at Bustle. Her additional bylines include Cosmopolitan, People, The Independent, HelloGiggles, Biography, Shondaland, Best Products, New Statesman, Heat, and The Guardian. Her work has been syndicated by publications including Town & Country, Good Housekeeping, Esquire, Delish, Oprah Daily, Country Living, and Women's Health. Her celebrity interviews include Jennifer Aniston, Jessica Chastain, the cast of Selling Sunset, Emma Thompson, Jessica Alba, and Penn Badgley. In 2015, she delivered an academic paper at Kimposium, the world's first Kardashian conference.