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Home / Entertainment

Watch: Prince William ‘dad dancing’ to Taylor Swift at Wembley concert

By Steve Bird
Daily Telegraph UK·
22 Jun, 2024 06:37 PM4 mins to read

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American singer Taylor Swift joined the Prince of Wales backstage as he celebrated his 42nd birthday. Photo / @KensingtonRoyal / X

American singer Taylor Swift joined the Prince of Wales backstage as he celebrated his 42nd birthday. Photo / @KensingtonRoyal / X

As embarrassing as dad dancing can be, Prince William’s uninhibited performance at Taylor Swift’s first Wembley concert was as enthusiastic as it was vigorous.

As soon as the pop star’s hit song Shake 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.

@kkinldn

Shake it off Prince William #princewilliam #erastourtaylorswift #erastour #whiteclawuk

♬ original sound - KK

In the private royal box, Prince George, 10, and Princess Charlotte, 9, 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.

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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.

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After the concert, Swift and Travis Kelce, her American NFL footballer boyfriend, invited the trio backstage.

Happy Bday M8! London shows are off to a splendid start 🇬🇧🇺🇸🤝 @KensingtonRoyal pic.twitter.com/VlD6V0PiEL

— Taylor Swift (@taylorswift13) June 22, 2024

The post addressed to @‌KensingtonRoyal also featured emojis of a British and American flag with a pair of hands shaking.

Kensington Palace replied with a similar picture on X, formerly Twitter, adding: “Thank you @‌TaylorSwift for a great evening!”

Thank you @taylorswift13 for a great evening! #LondonTSTheErastour pic.twitter.com/NFSi8hAl1o

— The Prince and Princess of Wales (@KensingtonRoyal) June 22, 2024

The Princess of Wales stayed at home with Prince Louis, 6.

The Royal family had earlier even welcomed Swift to London by posting a video of a special Changing of the Guard performance of Shake It Off. It featured the caption: “Can’t stop, won’t stop groovin’”.

Can't stop, won't stop groovin' 🫡🥁🎺@BritishArmy | @ArmyInLondon | @CorpsArmyMusic pic.twitter.com/JYrdCaG5gR

— The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) June 21, 2024

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 hit Livin’ 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, 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 including Bridgerton star Nicola Coughlan, Queer Eye’s Jonathan Van Ness and model Cara Delevingne.

Sir Keir Starmer took a break from the UK 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”.

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‘Swift’ campaign pitstop. pic.twitter.com/VdSo7Pb0i5

— Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) June 21, 2024

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 and get security to intervene after a number of fans fainted.

Transport for London also recognised the singer’s visit to the capital with a Taylor Swift version of the Tube map.

The revised map of the London Underground network replaces the names of regular stations and lines with references to Swift’s music.

Prince William was understood to have been back on father duty on Saturday. The Prince and Princess of Wales were expected to attend the school sports day at Lambrook, Berkshire. The Wales children are apparently very keen on sport, with Prince George an able footballer and Princess Charlotte a talented cricketer.

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