Taylor Swift & Travis Kelce's First Instagram Photo Almost Never Made It To The Grid
Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce started dating in summer 2023, but they didn't go Instagram official until a year later when Tay made a royal splash of the occasion. Sharing her new beau online would be a big deal under any circumstance, but she gave us a full field day by immortalizing her relationship with the Kansas City Chiefs tight end in a selfie featuring none other than Prince William and two of his children, Prince George and Princess Charlotte. But the historic picture (if we may be so blunt) almost didn't happen because the future king didn't want that guy in his photo. But Kelce has no hard feelings.
William and his kids were excited to see Swift backstage during her Eras Tour concert at London's Wembley Stadium, so he wanted the picture to mark a special moment. Kelce finds it understandable. "I get it, man. I was just the boyfriend at that point. I wasn't her husband yet," the NFL star said on his "New Heights" podcast on October 28, 2026. Even though Swift and Kelce tied the knot in July 2026, the picture marked a big moment for pop culture fans everywhere.
Everyone knew that, except for William. "I hadn't appreciated the significance," he joked on "The Graham Norton Show" a week before Kelce's response. "And actually, I was trying to move him out of the photo." Kelce proved to be the strongest of the two and pushed his way back in until William gave up. "I couldn't work out why he kept coming back in," he laughed. Luckily, the heir to the throne gave up and now we'll have this iconic photo forever.
When royals are fans of royals
As it turns out, Prince William and Taylor Swift actually go back further than the Eras tour viral selfie. During a November 2013 fundraising gala for Centrepoint, a youth homelessness charity, William sang alongside the pop star and Jon Bon Jovi (seen above in all its glory). "I turn up, and Jon Bon Jovi and Taylor Swift are at the event, which nearly knocked me off my feet, as well," he said on Apple Fitness+'s "Time to Walk" series (via L'Officiel). The future king of the United Kingdom and head of the Commonwealth belting out to "Livin' on a Prayer" wasn't on the program, though.
William still cringes over the impromptu performance with Swift. "To this day, I still do not know what came over me," he said. Except he does know. "Frankly, if Taylor Swift looks you in the eye, touches your arm, and says, 'Come with me...' I got up like a puppy and went," William revealed. Travis Kelce isn't jealous, though. He likes the Prince of Wales. "Shoutout to Prince William, man," he said on "New Heights."