Buckingham Palace is ready for it…and by "it" we mean the Eras Tour. Taylor Swift’s “Shake it Off” played during the Changing of the Guard at the palace on Friday, hours before the Grammy winner's first Eras Tour show in London.
The royal family’s official X (formerly Twitter account) shared a video of the performance with lyrics from “Shake it Off” that read: “Can't stop, won't stop groovin' 🫡🥁🎺 @BritishArmy | @ArmyInLondon | @CorpsArmyMusic.”
The British Army’s account also posted the video, writing: “Changing of the Guard (Taylor’s version).”
Prince William appeared to hint that he is a fan of the pop star during a conversation with the Rolling Stones’ Ronnie Wood last year. Recalling his talk with the Prince at the 11th annual Tusk Conservation Awards, Ronnie shared (via The Telegraph), "We were talking about the tour and I said, ‘Come on, you’ve got to come out on tour’ and we were talking about the new album and everything,” adding, “William said (he would) if we could get Taylor Swift there.”
Ronnie told William that Taylor had previously sung with Mick Jagger, to which the heir to the throne replied, “I’m there then.”
William himself has sung with Taylor. At the Winter Whites Gala in 2013, the Prince and Taylor sang “Livin’ on a Prayer” on stage with Jon Bon Jovi. The Prince spoke about the performance during his Apple Fitness+ “Time to Walk” episode in 2021. He said (via Apple Fitness+), “I’m sat next to Taylor Swift. She’s on my left. And after Jon does his first song, there’s a pause, and she turns to me. She puts her hand on my arm, looks me in the eye, and says, ‘Come on, William. Let’s go and sing.’”
“To this day, I still do not know what came over me. Honestly, even now I’m cringing at what happened next, and I don’t understand why I gave in. But, frankly, if Taylor Swift looks you in the eye, touches your arm, and says, ‘Come with me…’ I got up like a puppy and went, ‘Yeah, okay, that seems like a great idea. I’ll follow you,’” William continued. “I walked up on stage in a trance, and then sort of halfway through Jon Bon Jovi’s “Livin‘ On a Prayer” song, I wake up. And I’m thinking to myself, ‘Am I standing on the stage singing ’Livin‘ On a Prayer’ when I don’t even know the words?’”
The Prince confessed that there was a lot of sweating going on beneath his black tie. William also admitted, “Now, a lot of people might think that I’m… I’m comfortable on stage. When I do speeches and things like that, I’ve done so many now, they’re not a problem. But I’ve not done singing. At times, when you’re taken out of your comfort zone, you’ve got to roll with it.”
Taylor will be hitting the stage in London on Friday at Wembley Stadium. Check out her Eras Tour dates here!
