Taylor Swift just gave Prince William the birthday gift most tween girls can only dream of. The Prince of Wales, who turned 42 Fridayspent his birthday evening with Swift and 90,000 or so other people, all of whom were at Wembley Stadium for the first in three London stops for Swift’s Eras Tour. And unlike the concert-going behavior of his brother, Prince HarryWilliam wasn’t above shaking a tail feather at the show.
The royal family staked its Taylor Swift claim even before the lights went down at Wembley. During Friday’s ceremonial Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace, passers-by were treated to a far less traditional tune: Swift’s “Shake It Off,” played by the palace troops. X Street( formerly Twitter), the royal family tweeted a video of the performance, saying, “Can’t stop, won’t stop groovin’” (For the uninitiated, that’s a lyric in the nearly 10-year-old lead single from Swift’s album, 1989.) “Changing of the Guard (Taylor’s Version),” the video was captioned.
That night, thousands of fans streamed into Wembley for Swift’s first London stop, just a few days after Swift announced that her long-running Eras Tour would really, truly conclude in December. “This has definitely been the most exhausting, all-encompassing, but most joyful, most rewarding, most wonderful thing that has ever happened in my life,” she said at her 100th Eras show in Liverpool last week. “This is the very first time I’ve ever acknowledged to myself and admitted that this tour is gonna end in December,” she said. “Like, that’s it.”
Perhaps that ticking clock is why the stands were packed with celebs, including longtime Swift pal Cara Delevingne, Salma Hayekand Nicola Coughlan. Politicians such as Labour Party leader Keir Starmer and London Mayor Sadiq Khan were also spotted at the show. Swift’s boyfriend, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelcewho just the day before was hustling to promote his podcast with brother Jason Kelce at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, also made the trip from France to take in the concert.
But all those dimmed compared to Prince William, who, along with his eldest kids, Prince George and Princess Charlotteviewed the show from a private box. And if videos posted to social media were any indication, he was having a hell of a good time, hopping up to dance when the strains of “Shake it Off” filled the stadium. His rug-cutting moves starkly contrasted his brother’s demeanor at Beyoncé’s Renaissance tour last fall, during which Prince Harry stood stock-still and checked his phone during the concert.
Before the show, William and the kids made the trip backstage, where they posed for a Swift-shot selfie with the singer and Kelce, who stood at the soccer-loving prince’s side. “Happy Bday M8!” Swift captioned the photo in a post to Instagram. “London shows are off to a splendid start.”
A second photo, this one depicting Swift taking a Kelce-free photo with the royals, was posted to the Instagram account William shares with wife Kate Middleton. “Thank you @taylorswift for a great evening!” the royals captioned the photo of Swift with a laughing William, George, and Charlotte.
