It’s no secret that Taylor Swift has a lot of celebrity fans, and we mean a lot. And as much as Swifites have been loving The Eras Tour itself, more often than not it’s the clips of the VIP boxes that tend to go viral. Through Swifties’ phones, we’ve been given incredible insight into surprising celeb friendships (how long have Ethan Hawke and Selena Gomez been pals please?), Taylor and Travis Kelce’s sweet relationship and a plethora of dad dancing.
But everything seemed to ramp up when Taylor Swift and The Eras Tour finally hit London last week after months of anticipation. We were lucky enough to be invited to watch the show from the Emirates box (thank you, thank you, Emirates!) and boy did we discover that UK celebs that they know how to Shake It Off!
No one more so than Prince William who celebrated his 42nd birthday in the best way: attending The Eras Tour at Wembley Stadium with Prince George and Princess Charlotte. The Prince of Wales was spotted having the time of his life whilst dancing to Shake It Off with fans hailing his dad dancing as ‘The best thing I’ve seen’ and commenting, ‘Prince William is the Swifties we all needed. He is positively unhinged in the best of ways right here!’
The future King of England might have been a surprising face to spot at a Taylor Swift show, but in reality Prince William and Taylor Swift have been pals for years, having met back in 2013 when they performed Livin’ On A Prayer with Jon Bon Jovi at a charity event at Kensington Palace. Well, when we say ‘performed’, Taylor and Bon Jovi performed, Prince William reportedly played air guitar and high-fived everyone on stage.
Speaking about their first meeting at that Winter Whites Gala evening at Kensington Palace Taylor shared, ‘He was very funny. I was really happy he was funny.’
Yes, Prince William was the standout out when it came to dad dancing at the London Leg of The Eras Tour, but some special shoutouts must also go to Sir Paul McCartney – who danced and exchanged friendship bracelets with fans, Theo James skipping through the crowd, Tom Cruise and Hugh Grant. Rather iconically Hugh Grant – who welcomed his youngest in 2018 – was spotted eating carrots and wearing ear plugs at the gig.
However, as surprising as it was to see Prince William at The Eras Tour, obviously the greatest shock of Taylor’s first London leg was her boyfriend Travis Kelce’s appearance on stage.
The greatest cameo of the entire Eras Tour, Travis Kelce joined Taylor on stage last night for the intro of I Can Do It With A Broken Heart from her latest album, The Tortured Poets Department. Looking dapper in a top hat and tails, the Kansas Chiefs Tight End carried the singer across the stage and pretended to apply her make-up.
Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce’s relationship has been going from strength to strength, with the athlete supporting her a several of her shows, so it was no surprise that he was there in the VIP box singing along, but to choose London as the place for Travis to appear on stage? For many fans it seemed like the ultimate diss at her former London Boy Joe Alwynn, who dated Taylor from 2016-2023 and is rumoured to be one of the main inspirations behind her latest album TTPD in which Taylor bids the city a sad farewell in So Long, London.
Perhaps Taylor's decision to bring Travis on stage in London of all places was her way of reclaiming the city. No longer will London be associated with Joe, now Taylor has an incredible memory of London with her new boyfriend.
For the momentous moment, it was only natural that several of Taylor’s BFFs were there including actress Sophie Turner and model Cara Delevigne.
In fact, over her three London dates a plethora of Taylor Swift’s celeb friends came and partied at Wembley Stadium and bore witness her new beginning in the city. Andrew Scott and Phoebe Waller Bridge - who of course worked together on the final series of Fleabag - were partying up a storm, as were Nicola Coughlan and Queer Eye's Jonathan Van Ness – potentially our favourite celeb friendship of all time.
And let's not forget Salma Hayek, Mila Kunis and Ashton Kutcher, Liam Hemsworth, Greta Gerwig, Rachel Zegler, Ellie Goulding, Jon Bon Jovi and Cate Blanchett. It was such a starry list of celebrities at The Eras Tour when it first hit London, we'll be surprised if there are any left to attend when Taylor returns in August.
Sorry Joe, but London is officially Taylor's city again.
Daisy Hall is a News and Entertainment writer on Grazia.