It was the moment music royalty met British royalty. But it wasn't without a little awkwardness.
The 2024 selfie featuring Prince William, Prince George and Princess Charlotte posing backstage with Taylor Swift and her then-boyfriend Travis Kelce sent social media into a frenzy, generating more than 10 million likes on Instagram.
In a recent interview, the future king joked that at the time, he wanted Kelce out of the shot entirely, but the NFL star was keen to be involved.
"I hadn’t appreciated the significance – and actually, I was trying to move him out the photo," William jokingly shared during a rare television appearance on Britain's "The Graham Norton Show" last week. The significance being that when Swift shared the selfie to social media,
she and Kelce were finally Instagram official.
"But Travis kept coming back in, and I couldn’t work out why he kept coming back in,” William explained, laughing. “I was trying to move him out so it was just me and Taylor and the children."
On Oct. 28, Kelce responded to William's comments, saying he totally understood where William was coming from.
“I get it, man, ” the Kansas City Chiefs tight end said. “I was just a boyfriend at that point. You know?"
Speaking in an episode of the "New Heights" podcast he shares with his brother, Jason, the NFL star revealed the real reason for ensuring he was in the royal photo.
"I wasn’t her husband yet. You know? We don’t really know if this is gonna last, so it’s kinda just move out of the way real quick so we can keep this photo forever."
Kelce and Swift began dating in 2023 and were married in a star-studded Madison Square Garden ceremony on July 3. A string of high profile celebrities witnessed them tie the knot, including Ed Sheeran, Gigi Hadid and Bradley Cooper, Tom Cruise, Adam Sandler and Zoë Kravitz.
After Swift posted the selfie, the prince's official X account shared a different image of of Swift and the three royal family members without Kelce, indicating William finally got the selfie he had been seeking.
Thank you @taylorswift13 for a great evening! #LondonTSTheErastour pic.twitter.com/NFSi8hAl1o
— The Prince and Princess of Wales (@KensingtonRoyal) June 22, 2024
Kelce made clear there were no hard feelings between him and the Prince of Wales.
“Shout out to Prince William, man," he said.
The backstage selfie was captured in July 2024 as William celebrated his 42nd birthday at night one of Swift's "The Eras Tour" concert performances at London's Wembley Stadium. Footage taken at the event showed the father-of-three shimmying fervently to the chorus of “Shake It Off," much to the delight of those around him.
Princess Kate, who was undergoing cancer treatment at the time did not attend the concert. It is believed she stayed at home with Prince Louis, the youngest of the Wales children, who was 6 at the time.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Travis Kelce responds to Prince William trying to 'move him out' of Taylor Swift selfie
