Prince William and his two eldest children were seen proudly shaking it off at a Taylor Swift performance last week, grabbing a now viral selfie with the singer before she hit the stage.
But now it seems William and his daughter Princess Charlotte are in competition to see who is the bigger fan of the star.
Speaking to ET, royal expert Katie Nicholl has given an insight into the unlikely friendship between the Prince of Wales and America’s queen of pop.
She said that while Princess Charlotte is thought to be the biggest Swiftie of the royals, her dad might be close competition given his history with the 14-time GRAMMY Award winner that predates her birth.
Katie said the 34-year-old hitmaker the and 42-year-old William, ‘have a great connection’ and that ‘they’re good friends.’
The trio of royals snapped up a now viral selfie with Taylor before the show last week, a rare occurrence for the singer who never meets fans – no matter how famous – backstage before one of her Eras performances.
Prince William and his two eldest children, Prince George and Princess Charlotte, snapped up a selfie with Taylor before her performance in London last Friday
Prince William previously performed on stage with Taylor Swift and Jon Bon Jovi at a charity gig in 2013 – the trio are seen here performing Bon Jovi’s hit Livin’ On A Prayer (pictured)
A source has since told the Mail’s Richard Eden that the meeting was initiated by the Blank Space singer, saying: ‘Taylor Swift was keen to meet the Prince of Wales while she was in London. They already know each other, so the meeting made sense.’
William and Taylor first became acquainted in 2013 at the Centrepoint Gala Dinner at Kensington Palace in London.
During the evening in 2013, the two ended up on stage with Bon Jovi singing his famous Livin’ on a Prayer. The were pictured beaming as they belted out lyrics to the song while prancing around the stage.
Katie, who was there on the famous karaoke night, said the evening was the perfect start to what would become a long and lustrous friendship.
She added: ‘There is clearly a lovely connection between these two. But William is not just a fan of Taylor, he’s a huge fan of her music, too.’
And the fondness isn’t one sided. For William’s 42nd birthday, Taylor dedicated an entire grid post to wishing the Prince a happy birthday including the selfie they took together before one of her Wembley performances.
The post was particularly special since Taylor’s Instagram is usually reserved for professional pictures taken during her Eras shows.
The Karma singer captioned the picture: ‘Happy Bday M8! London shows are off to a splendid start,’ promptly gathering nearly 10 million likes on it.
William reportedly told Ronnie Wood that he would only attend a Rolling Stones concert if they brought Taylor along, and was also seen enthusiastically ‘dad dancing’ to Shake It Off in the audience on Friday.
The British royals posed for a picture with Taylor Swift and her boyfriend, Travis Kelce before her Wembley show last Friday
William and Taylor pictured together at the Gala Dinner at Kensington Palace in 2013, where the two first solidified their special friendship
Royal expert Katie Nicholl said the pair have a ‘great connection’ and the Prince of Wales could be the biggest Swiftie in the family
A second source told ET that Princess Charlotte was the driver behind making the meet happen and is the family’s biggest Swiftie.
The source said that Charlotte loved the gig and that all three children understand the value of appreciation and knew how lucky they were to meet the American singer.
After the gig, the family posted their special selfie on Kate and William’s official Instagram page, captioning the picture ‘Thank you @taylorswift for a great evening! #LondonTSTheErastour.’
However, Katie pondered over who who might be the biggest Swift fan, suggesting that William might be close competition.
The fondness exists on both sides of the coin. Taylor Swift’s boyfriend Travis Kelce, who was also there backstage when the British royals indulged in their VIP meeting with the pop singer.
The Kansas City Chiefs player has been even more enthusiastic about the royals than his Blank Space singer girlfriend, with the Kelce brothers filming an entire five-minute segment gushing about the royals on the latest episode of their New Heights podcast.
The sporting star even made a comment that ‘no other Prince’ is doing it like William, praising the royal for his down-to-earth nature.
At the 2013 event in Kensington Palace, the two sat together, appearing comfortable around each other. The initial closeness would go on to inform a close knit friendship between the two
Taylor and William put their hands together as they sang Bon Jovi’s famous song
‘We met royalty, guys,’ Travis said. ‘There was royalty at the show. I was fortunate enough that I didn’t get caught up in traffic so I got there early and got to meet Prince William. How bout that? Your Royal Highness.
‘Dude, he was the coolest motherf*****,’ he added. ‘He was so cool.’
‘He was awesome,’ Jason echoed his brother’s sentiments. ‘He was a good dude.’
He later added: ‘They were wonderful people, and that’s what it’s about. They’re part of a monarchy [it’s] hard to be a down-to-earth human being – I would assume. But [they] came off that way completely.’
Travis, who also made headlines this weekend for joining Taylor onstage for a cameo, gushed: ‘Tay got him out of his shell and they ripped it and they said he had a blast.
And I’m just like, I don’t know if any other Prince is doing that, you know what I mean?
‘In terms of royalty, it seems like they like to sit back in the shadows of the show, but he was cool enough to be a part of it. That just shows you how personable he is!’
The brothers even went on to praise William once more for his parenting, saying meeting Princess Charlotte was the ‘highlight’ of the whole evening.
‘If anyone’s doing it right, Prince William’s doing it right. Thank you your royal highness,’ praised Travis.
The football player’s comments about William’s clear joy to join the Swifties come as a stark comparison to Prince Harry and Meghan’s comparatively miserable appearance at a Beyoncé concert last September.
Meghan was spotted dancing the night away at the Cowboy Carter singer’s Renaissance tour in California – but Prince Harry appeared less than impressed as he gazed at his phone while the party continued around him.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex were among thousands of fans who crowded into the SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles.
But Harry appeared glum and disinterested as the pair were spotted in a private box along with Meghan’s mother Doria Ragland and Meghan’s Suits co-star and close friend Abigail Spencer.
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