The Prince of Wales sadly won’t be attending Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce‘s wedding Friday in New York City, but the heir to the British throne nonetheless made sure to offer some royal prestige to events.
In the hours before today’s festivities are set to start at Madison Square Garden for music superstar Swift and her Super Bowl-winning groom Kelce, Prince William made an unannounced appearance on the New Heights podcast hosted by Travis Kelce and his brother and ex-Philadelphia Eagles player Jason Kelce.
Among the tea spilled by William is that King Charles “hates football,” Harry Kane’s World Cup performance so has him well on the way to becoming one of England’s all-time greatest players (possible knighthood?), and how “the president of the English Football Association” intends to get Travis to attend the World Cup final July 19 if England is in it.
On the flipside, the Kelces, who have become American royalty in more ways than one over the past few years (in part because of the podcast’s success), were amazed they got their old pal Willie on the pod. “We thought were gonna be talking to, like, fat offensive linemen, not kings, queens, princes of other nations,” Jason Kelce said near the end of the surprise 30-minute podcast that dropped this morning as the Swift-Kelce wedding media frenzy reached fever pitch. “This is pretty wild,” the ex-Eagle went to say.
Buddies for more a decade, the Kelces and William brought some Swift to the party as they joked about iconic moments in the NFL player’s life.
“What is the most iconic moment at Wembley Stadium: Travis scoring a touchdown in 2015 against the Lions or Travis as a backup dancer to the one and only Taylor Swift?” Jason Kelce asked the Prince. “Travis as a backup dancer,” the 44-year-old quipped without missing a beat.
Travis jumped in on his turn on stage with his beloved on her Eras tours. “Definitely a very proud moment of my life, for sure,” he said.
In fact, Travis said he’d be up for some onstage Swift time again. “Listen, if Tay’s gonna sign up for a tour, I’ll happily make sure that we bring her back to life,” he told his brother and William.
One thing the trio did not touch on on the eve of America 250 was that little spat between England and a pre-independent America known as the Revolutionary War. “Wanted to keep it light,” said Jason, though hie did make a point of adding some historical context. “We were not only fighting the English, the Red Coats, we were also fighting mercenaries hired by England,” he said. “They hired a bunch of German soldiers… they were known for like eating babies and a bunch of other stuff. No. Bad guys. Bad guys.”
Altghough rumored to be on the exclusive list for the Swift-Kelce wedding, William and Princess Kate will be staying in the UK today, it appears. However, as NYPD internal documents and a June 24 confirmation to Deadline from Big Apple law enforcement make clerar, there will be about 1,000 guests for the ceremony set to begin around 2:30 p.m. PT on the floor of the fabled arena.
Among those courtside include members of the NBA champ New York Knicks; Kelce’s Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes, other teammates and coaches; ex-Disney boss Bob Iger and spouse Willow Bay; and current Disney powerhouse Dana Walden. Despite all the filming notices inside MSG and guests told not to bring phones or cameras, Deadline has been told there is no wedding special being planned right now for either the big screen or streaming platforms.
Barricades at Madison Square Garden for expected Swift and Kelce wedding
Having said that, AMC’s Adam Aron (whose company release Swift’s Eras concert flick a couple years back), Steven Spielberg and Kate Capshaw, Beyoncé and Jay-Z, members of Swift’s WME team, Selena Gomez, Lena Dunham, Stevie Nicks and Tim McGraw will be witnessing the wedding. With deep connections to the bride, the latter duo are expected to perform on the stage constructed on the MSG floor amidst foliage and chandeliers. As well as seeing her charity among those Swift and Kelce donated $26 million to recently, Dolly Parton (a big Swift influence) was also invited, though it’s unclear if the 80-year-old will actually be there.
What is clear is that Parton is thankful for the $2 million “gift,” and she wants to something else. “When you have your first-born, can I have it?” the “Jolene” singer asked playfully. “Cause that is going to be one special baby!”
Netflix’s Ted Sarandos and spouse Ambassador Nicole Avant were among other invitees I hear, though their appearance like Parton’s is also in debate.
Preceding the big event, which has hundreds of cops around MSG, tents for private car drop-offs and a supposed $20 million price tag, there will be a “cocktail” gathering for guests upstairs at the well-appointed arena.
Some of those getting a beverage will be reuniting from Thursday night’s more intimate 100-guest rehearsal dinner of sorts, which was also held at MSG under tight security.
