Footage circulating on X showed the father and son standing up to disembark the same British Airways jet in Barcelona, before heading to Spotify Camp Nou for the Champions League tie between Villa and the Spanish side. Royal watchers noticed something beyond the choice of club: they were apparently sitting in economy.
The convention they bent is unwritten but well established. Direct heirs to the throne are generally not expected to travel together, according to Hello Magazine, a precaution meant to protect the line of succession in the event of an aircraft disaster. It has never been legally binding and has been followed inconsistently over the years.
A rule that kicks in at 12
Graham Laurie, who piloted the royal flight for King Charles for years, has said Prince William himself was moved onto separate aircraft once he turned 12. Laurie recalled on Hello Magazine’s A Right Royal Podcast that William flew with his parents and brother, Prince Harry, until his 12th birthday in 1994.
“After that, he had to have a separate aircraft,” Laurie said, in comments reported by Yahoo.
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George is 13 and on half-term break from Eton College, which puts him squarely on the wrong side of that threshold.
Economy seats and a 3-0 defeat
The visit to Catalonia did not end the way Villa supporters, royal or otherwise, would have wanted. Lamine Yamal punished a defensive error to open the scoring after seven minutes, and Raphinha added two more, according to the club’s own match report.
Barcelona 3, Villa 0. It was the first time Villa had trailed in this season’s Champions League.
A looser approach to royal travel
William has form here. He took a scheduled British Airways flight to Washington back in 2014, ahead of a meeting with President Barack Obama, and the Princess of Wales flew commercial between Rotterdam and London in 2016.
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The Daily Express reported that the latest trip has left Buckingham Palace “concerned” about the protocol lapse. No palace spokesperson has been quoted on the record, and the trip did not prompt a public statement from Kensington Palace or the Prince of Wales’s office.
Villa’s next Champions League match is away at Galatasaray at Rams Park in Istanbul on 24 November, matchday five in the league phase.
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