As soon as the pop star’s hit songShake it Off began on Friday evening (UK time),the Prince of Wales was on his feet cavorting with arms and hips swaying in time to the rhythm.
Taylor Swift with Prince William,Prince George and Princess Charlotte before the Eras Tour in London.Instagram/@princeandprincessofwales
In the private royal box,Prince George,10,and Princess Charlotte,nine,also eagerly danced as they celebrated their father’s 42nd birthday.
The royals were among 90,000 other “Swifties” – loyal fans of the American singer – who attended the London stadium for Swift’s The Eras Tour.
One eagle-eyed concertgoer captured the moment Prince William and his children were lost in carefree abandon as they danced and sang the chorus “I shake it off,I shake it off”.
Within minutes,the video went viral on social media;some praised Prince William’s “impressive dad dancing”,others were simply delighted that “Prince William is a Swiftie”.
One simply stated:“This is my favourite thing ever! I never knew I needed to see Prince William dancing to Taylor Swift!”
What followed for the three royals would have been the envy of every Swift fan.
After the concert,Swift and Travis Kelce,her American NFL footballer boyfriend,invited the trio backstage.
A selfie taken by the Queen of Pop alongside the grinning princes and princess was seen by tens of millions of people by Saturday afternoon.
Any embarrassment Prince William’s children may have felt by their father’s dance moves would have passed after Swift,34,described the heir to the throne as her “m8” in the caption.
Kensington Palace replied with a similar picture on X,formerly Twitter,adding:“Thank you @TaylorSwift for a great evening!”
The Princess of Wales stayed at home with Prince Louis,six.
The royal family had earlier even welcomed Swift to London by posting a video of a special Changing of the Guard performance of her songShake It Off. It featured the caption:“Can’t stop,won’t stop groovin’” .
The prince has known Swift for at least 10 years. In 2013,she encouraged him to take to the stage with her and Jon Bon Jovi to perform the hitLivin’ On A Prayer. The unlikely musical collaboration took place at the Centrepoint Gala Dinner at Kensington Palace in November that year. Footage of that clip also went viral.
Bon Jovi,the frontman for the American band of the same name,said:“It was all her. She literally grabbed him by the arm and ran up on stage,and they both knew the words and sang along.”
Two years ago,the prince revealed that he had agreed to join them on stage because he became like a “puppy” when she told him to follow her.
Swift’s Wembley gig,the first in the capital for the tour – was attended by numerous celebrities includingBridgerton star Nicola Coughlan,Queer Eye’s Jonathan Van Ness and model Cara Delevingne.
Sir Keir Starmer took a break from the Labour election campaign and attended the concert with his wife Victoria. The pair posted a photo of them on social media with the caption “‘Swift’ campaign pitstop”.
The hugely anticipated gig marks the first of three London dates on Swift’s The Eras Tour. She opened the show by saying:“What better way to spend a Friday night than in the most exhilarating city in the world?”
However,the singer had to interrupt her set four times to try to get security to intervene after a number of fans fainted.
The Telegraph,London
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