Taylor Swift and Prince William reunite after viral video

Prince William and Taylor Swift are seen here at Kensington Palace on the night of their viral performance in November 2013. The duo reunited on June 21, 2024, for the Eras Tour in London. Image credit: Dave J Hogan for Centrepoint—Getty Images

TAylor Swift’s critically acclaimed ‘Eras ​​Tour’ finally landed in London on Friday night and, as expected, there were many notable moments.

The “Fortnight” singer took to the stage at Wembley Stadium to put on a star-studded show in front of a crowd full of famous faces. Her boyfriend, Kansas City Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce, looked on proudly, as did her long-time friend, model Cara Delevingne. Meanwhile, BridgertonThe Queen’s Nicola Coughlan was photographed at the sold-out show. But it was the royal element that really caught fans’ attention, as Prince William attended the concert with his two eldest children, Prince George, 10, and Princess Charlotte, 9.

William, who was celebrating his 42nd birthday, enjoyed his royal privileges and took his children backstage to meet Swift. The group immortalized the moment with a selfie. Holding the camera, Swift took a snap of herself and her boyfriend enjoying time with the royals. Both George and Charlotte were seen wearing big smiles. Swift shared the selfie with her 283 million followers on Instagram on Saturday afternoon. She spoke about the reunion and captioned the image: “Happy birthday M8! The London shows are off to a great start.” As a sign of international unity, she posted a Union Jack flag alongside the Stars and Stripes and a handshake emoji.

But Swift wasn’t the first to share this special moment on Instagram. Just four minutes earlier, the Prince and Princess of Wales’ social media account shared a photo of Swift taking a selfie with the happy group. The royals’ account captioned the moment, “Thank you Taylor Swift for a great night!” And it seems the royals enjoyed the concert to the fullest, as a video of “Prince William swings and dances” has since received a lot of attention on social media.

Kate Middleton, who continues to take a more low-key approach to public events following her diagnosis of an unspecified type of cancer earlier this year, was not pictured at the concert. While the Princess of Wales, who is undergoing “preventive chemotherapy,” recently made her public comeback at Trooping the Colour, she has explained that her treatment is ongoing and will continue for several more months. “I am learning to be patient, especially with uncertainty,” the mother of three wrote in a public note shared on June 14. “I take each day as it comes, listen to my body and give myself the much-needed time to heal.”

Prince William and Swift posing for photos on Friday night is not the first time the two have enjoyed each other’s company. The couple rose to fame in 2013 when they joined Jon Bon Jovi on stage to sing his 1986 hit “Livin’ on a Prayer.” A video of the moment, which took place during the Centrepoint Gala Dinner, a benefit for a homeless charity, at Kensington Palace, has since been widely shared.

Bon Jovi recounted the viral moment in an interview earlier this year. “It was all her,” the rock star told the Independent, praising Swift for making the moment possible. “She literally grabbed him (William) by the arm and ran on stage, and they both knew the words and sang along.”

Bon Jovi added that he was “grateful to this day” that Swift had encouraged Prince William.

Meanwhile, Prince William recalled the moment in an episode of Apple Fitness+’s Time to go Podcast in 2021, with a little less enthusiasm. The royal, who was sitting next to Swift at the event, said: “After Jon sings his first song, there’s a pause and she turns to me. She puts her hand on my arm, looks me in the eyes and says, ‘Come on, William. Let’s sing.'”

“To this day I don’t know what came over me. Honestly, even now I shudder at what happened next and I don’t understand why I gave in. But honestly, when Taylor Swift looks you in the eye, touches your arm and says, ‘Come with me…’ I jumped up like a little puppy and said, ‘Yeah, OK, that seems like a great idea. I’ll follow you,'” the Prince of Wales explained. “I walked on stage in a trance and then, about halfway through Jon Bon Jovi’s ‘Livin’ on a Prayer,’ I woke up and asked myself, ‘Am I standing on stage singing… when I don’t even know the words?'”

But despite his own reservations, William found that the crowd “loved it and cheered loudly,” so he thought he might as well enjoy it, too.

Write to Olivia-Anne Cleary at [email protected].