Rocking royal Prince William has delighted fans with his gleeful ‘dad dancing’ at Taylor Swift’s London gig last night – in stark contrast to his brother Harry’s gloomy appearance at a Beyonce concert.
The US pop star posed for a selfie with the Prince of Wales as well as two of his children Princess George and Princess Charlotte at last night’s Wembley Stadium show, along with the singer’s boyfriend Travis Kelce.
And footage emerged today of exuberant William breaking out his best ‘dad dancing’ as the singer, 34, performed her 2014 hit single Shake It Off – while fans described how the selfies with Taylor were ‘throwing shade’ at Harry and Meghan.
The images appeared very different to Harry’s demeanour when he and his wife Meghan Markle attended Beyonce’s performance at the SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles last September.
While the Duchess of Sussex appeared to be enjoying the show, Harry appeared dejected and often looking at his phone rather than the stage.
Meghan had reportedly attended a Taylor Swift concert in the same LA arena the previous month, though no selfies with Swift have emerged.
While William’s youngest child Prince Louis remained at home last with his wife Kate, he was accompanied by George and Charlotte in the 90,000-strong crowd.
Also enjoying the first night of Swift’s London run, as part of her record-breaking Eras Tour, were fellow royals Zara and Mike Tindall as well as Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer and his wife Victoria.
The Prince and Princess of Wales’s official X account posted a adorable photo William, George and Charlotte with Swift and Kelce – with the caption: ‘Thank you Taylor Swift for a great evening!’
Soon after, the popstar posted a selfie with the royals and her boyfriend to say: ‘Happy birthday M8! London shows are off to a splendid start’ in a touching message to the heir for his 42nd birthday.
In the photo, Kelce is seen wearing his Team USA Olympics hat.
William and megastar Swift have long known each other – the pair shared the stage at Kensington Palace to perform Livin’ On A Prayer with Jon Bon Jovi at a charity event in 2013.
At the Beyonce gig last September, Meghan was seen clapping and waving her arms, while her mother Doria – celebrating her 67th birthday that day – was seen dancing along to the music.
Harry, however, was photographed with his hands firmly stuck in his pockets or else glued to his phone.
Fans have pointed out the difference compared to his elder brother’s enjoyment of last night’s show on what was the heir to the throne’s 42nd birthday.
One responded to footage of William dancing by posting photographs on X, formerly Twitter, showing Harry at the Beyonce concert and adding: ‘Meanwhile, there’s Harry in his glum era.’
Another commented on the new selfies by writing: ‘Oh man the shade!!! To not only Meghan & Harry, but also her ex London Boy. Bravo Taylor Swift and Prince William.’
Other posts included ‘Taytay is Team Wales all the way’ and ‘You never saw Harry and Meghan get that close to Taylor Swift. Thanks for choosing the right side Taylor.’
Meghan reportedly jumped out of her chair to sing along to Swift’s song You Belong with Me at one of the singer’s Los Angeles shows last August – but didn’t appear to snap a photo with the star.
The former Suits actress was with her British friend Lucy Fraser, who featured prominently in the Sussexes’ tell-all Netflix series, according to Page Six.
It remained unclear where exactly Meghan might have been in the SoFi Stadium but she did not appear to be in the VIP tent – where Charlize Theron was happily filmed dancing along to some of the songs.
Meghan’s fashion designer friend Misha Nonoo was spotted arriving at the stadium with Taylor’s ex-BFF Karlie Kloss and the group were said to have been sat in the audience.
On the first night of the tour’s LA leg, Taylor took a photo with Kobe Bryant’s widow Vanessa and their children backstage.
During her performance of 22, the singer presented Vanessa’s six-year-old daughter Bianka with her bowler hat and gave her a hug from the stage.
And the night before Meghan reportedly attended, the star also happily snapped a photo with Alicia Keys and her eight-year-old son Genesis backstage.
There had been claims in the Wall Street Journal last June that Swift turned down an invitation to appear on Meghan’s podcast despite receiving a ‘personal letter’ from the Duchess.
The pop singer was asked by Meghan herself to appear on Archetypes, but she declined through her representative, it was said.
The Mail previously revealed in 2021 how Harry and Merghan were protected by Taylor Swift’s bodyguards during a whistle stop tour of New York City.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex were driven around and guarded by the security detail, including a former NYPD officer who was also Swift’s head of security.
Bridgerton star Nicola Coughlan, 34, was among the celebrity-studded audience who joined Kelce in the VIP area alongside model Delevingne at Wembley last night.
American hairstylist Jonathan van Ness, more commonly known as JVN, posted videos of the glitzy night featuring actress Salma Hayek.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said in a post on X, formerly Twitter, that he was taking a ‘Swift campaign pitstop’ – a break ahead of the July 4 general election – to enjoy the concert with his wife.
William previously said of his duet with Taylor at the 2013 charity event for Centrepoint that he obeyed ‘like a puppy’ her demand he join her on-stage.
He recalled in a 2021 interview: ‘I can’t believe I’m actually telling you this story – I turn up and Jon Bon Jovi and Taylor Swift are at the event, which nearly knocked me off my feet.
‘And then, I went inside, met everybody, a lot of handshaking to do those nights, a lot of chatting. I try and be charming and interactive.
‘She puts her hand on my arm, looks me in the eye and says: “Come on, William – let’s go and sing.”
‘To this day, I still do not know what came over me. Honestly, even now I’m cringing at what happened next, and I don’t understand why I gave in.
‘But, 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: “Yeah, OK, that seems like a great idea. I’ll follow you.”
‘I walked up on stage in a trance and then sort of halfway through Jon Bon Jovi’s Livin’ On A Prayer song, I wake up.’
Friday’s Wembley gig was the first of three in London for Swift this weekend, with another five lined up for August.
She has already performed in Edinburgh, Liverpool and Cardiff after arriving in the UK earlier this month.
Swift was clearly overwhelmed by the 89,000-strong crowd in the capital last night and said: ‘Oh my God, London, look what you’ve done. What better way to spend a Friday night than in the most exhilarating city in the world?’
During the show, Swift reminisced about gigs at King’s College London and the Shepherd’s Bush Empire that she performed earlier in her career.
She said: “You just continued to support me more and more and the rooms got bigger then bigger and now you’ve done this, sold out three nights in June and five in August.
‘I’m not the best at maths but I think that means we get to play Wembley Stadium eight times.’
With London overcome by ‘Swiftmania’, the military band at Buckingham Palace won plaudits for their version of her hit Shake It Off earlier on Friday.
Avideo titled Changing of the Guard (Taylor’s Version), was posted on X (formerly Twitter) by the Royal Family’s official account on X, formerly Twitter.
The band stood on the forecourt of Buckingham Palace blasting trumpets, saxophones and other wind instruments, as the caption read: ‘Can’t stop, won’t stop groovin’.’
A series of Swift-inspired special tie-ins have been taking place across London, such as a ‘Taylor trail’, a redesigned Tube map naming stations after her song titles and two new artworks on display at Wembley Park.
It was revealed on Thursday that Swift’s fans were expected to boost the London economy by £300million as the capital hosts more Eras Tour shows than any other city in the world, with nearly 640,000 people expected to attend across the eight dates.