Travis Kelce Felt Like an "American Idiot" Meeting Prince William

He described the royal using some pretty explicit language.

HRH Prince William looks on during the trophy presentation ceremony following the UEFA EURO 2024 final match between Spain and England at Olympiastadion on July 14, 2024 in Berlin, Germany. (Photo by Jonathan Moscrop/Getty Images) Travis Kelce attends the Los Angeles Premiere Of Netflix's "Quarterback" at TUDUM Theater on July 11, 2023 in Hollywood, California. (Photo by JC Olivera/Getty Images)
(Image credit: Getty Images/ Jonathan Moscrop/JC Olivera)

Back in June, Prince William took Prince George and Princess Charlotte to see Taylor Swift perform the Eras Tour at London’s Wembley Stadium. The royal trio were lucky enough to meet Swift backstage, where she took a sweet selfie with them. Swift's boyfriend, NFL star Travis Kelce, was also included in the iconic photo, which was shared on social media. And it would seem that meeting the British royal family was quite the culture shock for Travis and his brother Jason Kelce.

During a new episode of their New Heights podcast, Travis opened up about what really went down backstage at the concert. “We met royalty guys," he proclaimed, via Cosmopolitan. "That's right, there was royalty at the show." As for what Prince William was like in person, Travis gave an interesting description of the royal, saying, "Dude, he was the coolest motherf*cker." He continued, "He was so cool!"

While the meeting took place at a casual event, rather than an official royal occasion, there was a degree of informality. However, Travis described having some nerves prior to meeting the royal family members. "I didn’t realize this, 'cause obviously we’re backstage meeting him, because he was there with little George and Charlotte, and they were an absolute delight to meet," he explained. "Wasn’t sure if I was supposed to like bow to them, curtsy, just be an American idiot and shake their hand."

Jason confirmed that they weren't required to "bow or curtsy" when meeting the prince and two of his children. "If it would have been like an official meeting of royalty event, then it would have been that," Jason explained on the podcast. "But 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."

It would seem the royals had just as much fun as the Kelces did at Swift's Eras Tour. A source revealed to Entertainment Tonight that Princess Charlotte is a major Swiftie, and was incredibly excited to see the singer perform.

"Princess Charlotte is the huge Taylor Swift fan in the family," the source explained. "She has wanted to go to the concert for months, but with her mum being treated for cancer, this was a really special day to be able to celebrate her Papa's birthday like this."

Amy Mackelden
Contributing Editor

Amy Mackelden is a contributing editor at Marie Claire, where she covers celebrity and royal family news. She was the weekend editor at Harper’s BAZAAR for three years, where she covered breaking celebrity and entertainment news, royal stories, fashion, beauty, and politics. Prior to that, she spent a year as the joint weekend editor for Marie Claire, ELLE, and Harper's BAZAAR, and two years as an entertainment writer at Bustle. Her additional bylines include Cosmopolitan, People, The Independent, HelloGiggles, Biography, Shondaland, Best Products, New Statesman, Heat, and The Guardian. Her work has been syndicated by publications including Town & Country, Good Housekeeping, Esquire, Delish, Oprah Daily, Country Living, and Women's Health. Her celebrity interviews include Jennifer Aniston, Jessica Chastain, the cast of Selling Sunset, Emma Thompson, Jessica Alba, and Penn Badgley. In 2015, she delivered an academic paper at Kimposium, the world's first Kardashian conference.