Prince William's secret outing revealed after major joint appearance with Princess Kate

The Prince of Wales was inundated with high-fives as he arrived at Sporting Khalsa FC in Willenhall, West Midlands on Tuesday.

But ahead of trying out his refereeing skills, Prince William made a private visit to his beloved football club, Aston Villa, to watch the squad training before their next Champions League match against Club Brugge on Wednesday.

The future King has been an avid follower of the West Midlands Club for years and he's been spotted in the standsat their Premier League matches as well as their Champion League clashes.

After wishing his team good luck before Wednesday's game, William, 42, was welcomed by more than 100 cheering school children as he arrived 30 minutes later than expected at Sporting Khalsa FC.

Before making it inside the football ground to learn about refereeing, William was welcomed by hundreds of schoolchildren and locals who had gathered to meet him.

He said: "Hello, it's nice to see you all," as he posed for selfies, gave hugs and high fives and chatted with pupils from the nearby Fibbersley Park Academy who had made posters and flags and chanted his name.

He seemed particularly impressed by a poster made by a pupil which referenced his team, which read: "Aston Villa is the best" and gave a thumbs up, while another read: "Hello Prince William, I hope you are a good ref, good luck."

On the pitch William had a go at refereeing a football match, learning about fouls, whistle tones and flag signalling as part of a training course at the club.

Watch his attempts below...

The course, which has been running since July 2023 and combines practical and theory training, is part of the FA’s Reflective and Representative campaign – which aims to recruit 1,000 people from black, Asian and mixed heritage backgrounds into refereeing roles.

It marked William's first engagement since becoming patron of the Football Association (FA) last summer. The Prince had previously held the role of President of the FA since 2006.

During the training session, William joined students as they were shown video clips before being asked to decide whether the action on screen warranted a red card, a yellow card, or no card.

He joined students in standing in different sections of the room depending on their decision.

Picking up his red and yellow cards, William joked: "I'll follow the crowd."

When asked why he had decided to grant a red card, William gestured to two girls beside him and said: "I'll take advice from you two."

He then added: "I think that it's studs out. Straight leg. I think it's dangerous, because of the height of where it is."

The Prince and his fellow students who had decided it was a red card were told they were right.

William also spoke with professional referee and lieutenant in the British Army, Levi Gray, to hear about her career journey.

Speaking afterwards, Lt Gray said: “It was brilliant, I am so pleased I could be here and that he could come down and support an event like this.

"We spoke about women in football, which I think is definitely growing, and how different the women;s game is to the men's in terms of it being a bit more of a family event and a bit more supportive, and spoke about diversity events like this and how important it is that you can see it and believe it.

"We want to be able to see people who are watching football at home or on the side lines and think 'that could be me'. Without events like this where you build representation, that won’t happen."

William's outing in the West Midlands came the day after he and the Princess of Wales attended the annual Commonwealth Day service at Westminster with the King and Queen and senior royals.

It marked Charles and Kate's return to the service after missing it last year while they were both being treated for cancer.

The Princess looked beautiful in a repeat red Catherine Walker coat with a matching Gina Foster hat.