William’s wife Kate Middleton reportedly did not join her husband and children at the concert. The 42-year-old Princess of Wales is undergoing chemotherapy treatment for cancer and has mostly stayed out of the spotlight over the past few months.

Middleton made her first public appearance since Christmas last weekend when she attended Trooping of the Colour. The royal ceremony celebrated the birthday of King Charles III, who is also battling cancer.

The princess announced that she would be attending Trooping the Colour ahead of the event in a statement shared on Instagram. Middleton wrote that she hopes to attend “a few public engagements over the summer” but acknowledged that she is “not out of the woods yet.”

William first met Swift in 2013 at a Centrepoint Gala Dinner that was held at Kensington Palace. The royal later joined Swift and Bon Jovi for a performance of the rock icon’s hit 1986 song “Livin’ on a Prayer.”

During a 2021 episode of Apple Fitness+’s “Time to Walk” series, William shared the story behind the viral moment.

“So, around about — it must be nearly 10 years ago now — I can’t believe I’m actually telling this story,” he said “I went to a charity fundraising gala for Centrepoint, which is a young homeless charity that I am very fond of and have supported for many years. It’s an annual fundraiser, and I turn up, and Jon Bon Jovi and Taylor Swift are at the event, which nearly knocked me off my feet as well.”

William continued, “When I sat down to watch Jon Bon Jovi do his performance, I thought, ‘That’s it. My job is done. I’ll get a dinner in a minute, and I might be able to have a chat to some people, and, you know, I’m off-duty a little bit now.’ Little did I think what was going to happen next.”

“I’m sat next to Taylor Swift. She’s on my left. And after Jon does his first song, there’s a pause and she turns to me. She puts her hand on my arm, looks me in the eye, and says, ‘Come on, William. Let’s go and sing,'” he recalled.

To this day, I still do not know what came over me,” William added.”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, okay, that seems like a great idea. I’ll follow you.’ ”

Ahead of William and his children’s reported outing on Friday, Swift received a royal welcome to the United Kingdom from Buckingham Palace.

On Friday, the Royal Family and the Army in London’s official Instagram accounts shared a video of the Changing of the Guard, a royal ceremony, during which the Military band played Swift’s hit “Shake It Off” in front of Buckingham Palace.

“Can’t stop, won’t stop grooving,” the caption read.

 

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Earlier on Friday, Middleton shared a birthday tribute for William on Instagram, giving her husband a shout-out by sharing a fun family portrait.

“Happy birthday Papa, we all love you so much! Cx,” the caption read, alongside a photo of William and their three children jumping in the air while holding hands.

Charles also shared a sweet birthday message for his older son on the royal family’s Instagram Stories.

“Wishing The Prince of Wales a very happy birthday,” the post read, alongside a black-and-white throwback photo of a young Charles and William as a baby.

This weekend is Swift’s first stop in London on her “Eras Tour.” She will come back for a round of five shows later in the summer.

Earlier this month, Swift celebrated her 100th show in Liverpool, England, and addressed the end of her international tour for the first time. Over the past year, the 14-time Grammy Award-winner has been known to add dates to her tour.

“I think a lot of people are like, ‘Well, how are you going to celebrate the 100th show?’” Swift told the crowd, according to Entertainment Weekly. “And for me, the celebration of the 100th show for me means this is the very first time I’ve ever acknowledged to myself and admitted that this tour is gonna end in December.”

“Like, that’s it,” the award-winning singer-songwriter added.

“That feels like so far away from now. But then again, it feels like I just did my first show on this tour, because you guys have made this so much fun for us that we wanted to do 100 shows, 150-something shows,” she continued.

Swift admitted that the “Eras Tour” has “become my entire life.” She joked that she’s forgotten her hobbies, because “all I do when I’m not on stage is just like sit at home and try to think of some clever acoustic song mashups and thinking about what you might like to hear.”