Prince George’s Grown-Up Royal Gesture Caught on Camera

Prince George delighted royal fans on Saturday by making his first official appearance alongside Prince William this year as he attended the Football Association (FA) Cup Final in London, footage from which has gone viral on social media.

George had accompanied his father to a soccer match earlier this year to watch the Aston Villa team at their club home in Birmingham, England, but this was attended in a private capacity, while William was present at Saturday’s game fulfilling his role as president of the FA.

George and his siblings, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, have not made a group appearance at a royal event since December, following a difficult period for the Wales family as Princess Kate continues her treatment for cancer.

The young prince sat beside his father for the cup final which was held at Wembley Stadium in West London as rival teams Manchester City and Manchester United played for the tournament win.

Manchester United was the triumphant team, taking a 2-1 lead with the winning goal scored by wing player Alejandro Garnacho.

William presented the Manchester United side with the FA Cup and both teams with tournament medals, at which point cameras caught George offering the players a grown-up congratulatory gesture of his own.

Uploaded to TikTok by user, wikagechlo, on May 26, footage of George shaking each player’s hand, including Manchester City star Jack Grealish, has gone viral gaining over 100,000 views in 24 hours.

The young prince was seen exchanging brief words with the players before posing for photographs with his father. William has been president of the FA since 2006.

Captioned “Prince George joined his father Prince William to the FA cup,” the TikTok video has received in excess of 9,000 likes and over 180 comments, many of which have praised the royals and George’s maturity during the event.

“Love watching Prince George with his dad at these events,” wrote one user. “It’s a fun learning experience and great memory maker.”

“Awww little George looks so proud next to dad bless him,” posted another, with a further comment reading: “Matching suits they look so cute.”

George has attended a number of sports events with his parents in recent years.

In 2021, William and Kate took their eldest son with them to watch the UEFA Euro 2020 soccer tournament (postponed due to the COVID pandemic) final between England and Italy.

In 2022 and 2023, the prince was also present for games during the annual Wimbledon Tennis Championship. Princess Kate is president of the All England Lawn Tennis Club that hosts the tournament each year and presents trophies during the men’s and women’s singles finals games.

James Crawford-Smith is Newsweek‘s royal reporter, based in London. You can find him on X (formerly Twitter) at @jrcrawfordsmith and read his stories on Newsweek‘s The Royals Facebook page.

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