RICHARD EDEN: The truth of Taylor Swift's royal selfie is very different to what the Sussex Squad would have you believe
Taylor Swift’s meeting with Prince William, Prince George and Princess Charlotte last weekend certainly impressed the pop superstar’s boyfriend, Travis Kelce.
The American football player pithily described our future king as ‘the coolest motherf*****’, adding that George, ten, and Charlotte, nine, were ‘an absolute delight’.
But Harry and Meghan might be less impressed by the encounter, which took place at Wembley Stadium during the singer’s hugely popular Eras Tour.
Taylor Swift takes a selfie with Prince William, Prince George and Princess Charlotte during her Eras Tour concert at Wembley
Taylor Swift with her boyfriend Travis Kelce and Prince William, Prince George and Princess Charlotte
Cheerleaders for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have since claimed that, in attending such a high-profile concert, William was merely copying the California-based couple, who have themselves become friendly with another US pop singer, Beyonce.
Branding the meeting with Swift a ‘carefully orchestrated PR move’, one prominent American commentator with 1.3 million followers on TikTok declared: ‘I just want everyone to say, “Thank you, Meghan” for being the first member of the British Royal Family to really break out of their historic formula when it comes to being photographed with celebrities and, of course, getting dragged over the coals for it.’
However, royal insiders tell me that the truth could not be more different.
‘Taylor Swift was keen to meet the Prince of Wales while she was in London,’ a source tells me. ‘They already know each other, so the meeting made sense.’
Swift sang at Kensington Palace, London home of William and Catherine, in 2013. During that performance - part of a fundraising concert for the homelessness charity Centrepoint - William memorably joined Swift and rock star Jon Bon Jovi on stage.
There is something else worth remembering, too: the royal source is too diplomatic to point it out but, at Wembley, Taylor Swift was paying court to the Royal Family. In Harry and Meghan’s case, they are the ones paying court to showbusiness royalty.
There was a vivid illustration of this back in 2019 when, still part of The Firm, the couple attended the London premiere of The Lion King.
Harry and his American wife, a former actress of course, were seen on camera speaking to some of Hollywood’s most influential figures. Video footage showed the Duke praising Meghan’s voiceover skills to the film’s director, Jon Favreau, as Beyonce and her husband, the rapper Jay-Z, looked on.
[video_shortcode_video_html_5 src="https://videos.dailymail.co.uk/video/mol/2019/07/14/5068394108391214333/1024x576_MP4_5068394108391214333.mp4" itemprop="image" content="https://videos.dailymail.co.uk/video/mol/2019/07/14/5068394108391214333/1024x576_MP4_5068394108391214333.mp4" data-src="https://videos.dailymail.co.uk/video/mol/2019/07/14/5068394108391214333/1024x576_MP4_5068394108391214333.mp4"]
Beyonce meeting Prince Harry and Meghan at The Lion King premiere in 2019
During the exchange, Beyonce was seen covering her face before, seeming uncomfortable, looking away. Social media users poked fun at the moment, suggesting that the singer was cringing.
In the clip, Harry told Favreau: ‘If anyone needs any extra voiceover work...’ before Meghan interrupts and jokes: ‘That’s really why we’re here – it’s the pitch!’
At the same event, Harry also touted Meghan’s talents to Disney chief executive Bob Iger, in a move that appeared to surprise his wife, former television host Willow Bay.
During the conversation, Harry asked: ‘You know she does voiceovers?’
Iger could be heard replying: ‘Ah, I did not know that.’
Harry then responded: ‘You seem surprised. She’s really interested.’ The Disney chief then said: ‘We’d love to try. That’s a great idea.’
Prince Harry touts Meghan to Bob Iger for a Disney voiceover job during The Lion King's premiere
[video_shortcode_video_html_5 src="https://videos.dailymail.co.uk/video/mol/2019/07/14/5068394108391214333/1024x576_MP4_5068394108391214333.mp4" itemprop="image" content="https://videos.dailymail.co.uk/video/mol/2019/07/14/5068394108391214333/1024x576_MP4_5068394108391214333.mp4" data-src="https://videos.dailymail.co.uk/video/mol/2019/07/14/5068394108391214333/1024x576_MP4_5068394108391214333.mp4"]
The exchange came months before Meghan was hired by the company to work on a Disney project in exchange for a donation to Elephants Without Borders, a wildlife conservation and nature research charity.
This meeting at The Lion King premiere wasn’t the first occasion that the royal couple had seemed to court stars and key figures from the entertainment world.
At their Windsor wedding in 2018, some of Harry’s old friends were surprised to see famous actors and television personalities among the guests - people they didn’t know had ever met the Prince.
At the ceremony, Princess Diana’s former flatmate, Carolyn Bartholomew, was said to have turned to Hollywood star George Clooney and wife Amal, who were seated alongside her, and asked how they knew Harry or Meghan.
‘We don’t,’ the Clooneys reportedly answered, according to Boris Johnson’s journalist sister, Rachel.
Amal and George Clooney arrive at St George's Chapel in Windsor Castle ahead of Prince Harry's wedding to Meghan in 2018
In 2022, I disclosed in my Daily Mail social diary, Eden Confidential, that Spider-Man stars Tom Holland and Zendaya were bemused to have been contacted by Harry and Meghan out of the blue and asked if they could meet.
‘Tom had never met Harry or spoken to him in his life, so didn’t know what they wanted,’ a source told me at the time.
The actors did meet the Sussexes, although it was notable that neither later appeared on her Spotify podcast series, Archetypes.
Another figure conspicuous by her absence on Meghan’s series was Taylor Swift. The Duchess reportedly sent her a handwritten note asking the singer to appear on Archetypes.
There was, you could say, a Swift rejection.
To sign up for Richard Eden’s royal newsletter, click on this link.