Prince William explains why he 'moved away' from Travis Kelce in viral Taylor Swift selfie
Prince William has finally explained why he was seemingly trying to move Travis Kelce out of his now-iconic selfie with Taylor Swift.
And, as it turns out, the future king had no idea he was witnessing pop culture history.
The Prince of Wales made a surprise appearance on much-loved chat show, The Graham Norton Show, on Friday (23 October), where he reflected on the viral photograph he took with Swift and her now-husband, Kelce.
At the time, William, 44, had taken his two eldest children, Prince George and Princess Charlotte, to see the 'Love Story' singer performing in concert at Wembley Arena in London to celebrate his 42nd birthday.
Advert
Kelce had also been in attendance, supporting his then-rumoured girlfriend from backstage.
A photograph of the group was taken after the show during Swift's Eras Tour, with Swift, 36, later shared on Instagram.
"Happy Bday M8!" she captioned the post. "London shows are off to a splendid start."
And while their snap went down in history as a major moment in Swift and Kelce's relationship, William has revealed he had a slightly different agenda when the picture was being taken.
Speaking to BBC presenter Norton last week, the royal admitted he had no idea just how viral the photograph would become.
"I wasn’t until recently," he explained. "I hadn’t appreciated the significance - and actually, I was trying to move him out of the photo. Travis kept coming back in, and I couldn’t work out why he kept coming back in."
William went on to confess: "I was trying to move him out so it was just me and Taylor and the children!”
Norton then pointed out why the selfie became such a talking point at the time, explaining that it was when Swift and Kelce effectively went public with their relationship on social media.
"Apparently," William replied.
The post sent fans into a frenzy, not least because it marked the first time the singer had shared a photograph of herself with Kelce on her Instagram account.
At the time, the Kansas City Chiefs star had been dating Swift since 2023, but their relationship had largely played out away from the singer’s own social media page.
Interestingly, a second photograph from the evening featured Swift, William, George and Charlotte without Kelce, meaning the prince did eventually get the picture he'd seemingly been after.
But despite his playful admission, there is no tension between the Kelces' and the Wales', with the NFL star previously speaking warmly about meeting the royal and his children.
During an appearance on his New Heights podcast with brother Jason, Kelce described the meeting as one of the coolest moments of his life.
And it seems the pair have since become much better acquainted, with William himself appearing on the brothers' podcast in July 2026.
Topics: Prince William, Royal Family, Taylor Swift, Travis Kelce, Celebrity
Rhianna Benson