Travis Kelce says he was briefed on royal protocol before meeting the Prince of Wales backstage at Taylor Swift’s London show, recounting on his New Heights podcast that staff advised him and his brother, Jason Kelce, on how to introduce themselves and what formalities were expected. “We met royalty, guys. There was royalty at the show,” he said of the encounter at Wembley Stadium. “I got there early and got to meet Prince William. How ’bout that? Your Royal Highness.” Kelce joked that, as an American unfamiliar with palace etiquette, he was nervous about getting it wrong. “I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to, like, bow to them, curtsy, just be an American idiot and shake their hand,” he said, adding that the briefing made the exchange straightforward once they were face to face.
Jason Kelce told listeners the guidance was friendly rather than rigid and reflected the setting. “We did get warning about how to properly introduce ourselves to the royals,” he said, “but they said that because we weren’t at, like, an official royal event, we didn’t need to bow or curtsy.” He added that he still used the formal address. “I did still address him as ‘Your Royal Highness.’ I’ve never felt emasculated. And I did. That was the closest I’ve ever been.” The brothers said the meeting, which took place before Swift’s first Wembley show of the weekend, left a strong impression.
Kelce praised the Prince of Wales in particularly emphatic terms. “He was the coolest motherf**ker,” he said, a line that ricocheted through sports and entertainment coverage after the episode aired. He also described Prince George and Princess Charlotte as “an absolute delight to meet,” calling the exchange a highlight of a weekend that already included on-stage cameos, post-show family photos and Swift’s public birthday nod to the prince. Jason Kelce echoed his brother’s assessment. “He was awesome. He was a good dude,” he said on the podcast, adding that the informality of a concert setting helped keep the atmosphere relaxed.
The meeting happened on a night that doubled as a birthday for the Prince of Wales and as a landmark in Swift’s European tour. After the show, Swift posted a selfie taken backstage with the prince and his two eldest children, captioned, “Happy Bday M8! London shows are off to a splendid start.” The royal household’s social media followed with a brief message that read, “Thank you @taylorswift13 for a great evening!” signed with a “W”. The twin posts served as public confirmation of the backstage encounter that the Kelces later described in detail on their podcast.