October 28, 2026, 12:29 p.m. ET
It was the moment when music royalty met British royalty. But this was not done without some embarrassment.
The 2024 selfie featuring Prince William, Prince George and Princess Charlotte posing backstage with Taylor Swift and her then-boyfriend Travis Kelce caused a frenzy on social media, generating more than 10 million likes on Instagram.
In a recent interview, the future king joked that at the time he wanted Kelce to be completely out of the picture, but the NFL star was keen to get involved.
“I didn’t understand the significance of it – and in fact, I was trying to get him out of the picture,” William jokingly shared during a rare television appearance on Britain’s “The Graham Norton Show” last week. The meaning being that when Swift shared the selfie on social media, she and Kelce were finally Instagram official.
“But Travis kept coming back, and I couldn’t understand why he kept coming back,” William said with a laugh. “I was trying to get him to leave, so it was just me, Taylor and the kids.”
On October 28, Kelce responded to William’s comments, saying he completely understands where William is coming from.
“I get it, man,” the Kansas City Chiefs tight end said. “I was just a boyfriend at the time. You know?”
Speaking on an episode of the ‘New Heights’ podcast which he shares with his brother Jason, the NFL star revealed the real reason he made sure he was in the royal photo.
“I wasn’t her husband yet. You know? We don’t really know if this is going to last, so we just have to get out of the way real quick so we can keep this picture forever.”
Kelce and Swift began dating in 2023 and tied the knot in a star-studded ceremony at Madison Square Garden on July 3. A string of high-profile celebrities saw them tie the knot, including Ed Sheeran, Gigi Hadid and Bradley Cooper, Tom Cruise, Adam Sandler and Zoë Kravitz.
After Swift posted the selfie, the prince’s official X account shared a different image of Swift and the three royals without Kelce, indicating that William finally got the selfie he was looking for.
Kelce made it clear there were no hard feelings between him and the Prince of Wales.
“Shout out to Prince William, man,” he said.
The backstage selfie was captured in July 2024 as William celebrated his 42nd birthday at one of Swift’s “The Eras Tour” concerts at Wembley Stadium in London. Footage taken at the event showed the father of three fervently swaying his hips to the chorus of “Shake It Off”, much to the delight of those around him.
Princess Kate, who was undergoing treatment for cancer at the time, did not attend the concert. She is believed to have stayed at home with Prince Louis, the youngest Welsh child, who was 6 years old at the time.
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