Prince William Talks Soccer, American Football and Travis Kelces Performance as a Backup Dancer to Taylor Swift on New Heights Podcast
Travis Kelce might be getting married in the most anticipated wedding of the century, but that topic didn’t come up in a bonus episode of his ‘New Heights‘ podcast that dropped Friday. However, Taylor Swift‘s name did come up. Kelce and his brother Jason Kelce chatted with surprise guest Prince William for an episode of…
Travis Kelce might be getting married in the most anticipated wedding of the century, but that topic didn’t come up in a bonus episode of his ‘New Heights‘ podcast that dropped Friday. However, Taylor Swift‘s name did come up.
Kelce and his brother Jason Kelce chatted with surprise guest Prince William for an episode of their podcast that was released just hours before Travis and Swift were set to celebrate their wedding at Madison Square Garden in New York.
During the conversation, Jason asked William which he found to be a more “iconic moment” at London’s Wembley Stadium: Travis catching a touchdown pass in 2015 during a Kansas City Chiefs win vs. the Detroit Lions, or Travis’ performance as a “backup dancer” during Swift’s Eras Tour concert in 2024.
“Travis as a backup,” William said, laughing.
“Definitely a very proud moment of my life for sure,” chimed in Travis.
When William suggested he repeat that moment in the future, Travis replied: “Listen, if Tay’s gonna sign up for a tour, I’ll happily make sure that we bring [it] back to life.”
Swift and Travis hung out with William and two of his kids (George and Charlotte) when she was in London two years ago for her Eras Tour; photos posted online show Swift taking a selfies of her with the royals and Travis.
“That was honestly one of the coolest moments ever was meeting you and the little ones, that day,” Travis recalled. “Me and Jason joke about it all the time. We were so nervous to meet you guys and the royal family. Jason has this running joke where he didn’t know what to do with his beer.”
Quipped Jason: “Yeah, it wasn’t a joke. It was reality. … You want to be respectful and know what the protocols and are, but it was awesome, and you were fantastic. The kids were great. Princess Charlotte was still the highlight for me. I have four daughters as well.”
“Congratulations having four daughters,” William said. “I don’t know how you do that.”
“The hardest job,” Jason agreed.
The conversation also focused quite a bit on soccer (called “football” in nearly every other country except the U.S. and a handful of others) and the World Cup, along with American football, as you might expect.
Asked if his father, King Charles, sparked William’s love of soccer, the prince replied, laughing: “Absolutely not. My father hates football.” He said he got into soccer after some of his friends from school took him to see his first game.
William has been involved with the Football Association, England’s governing body of the sport, for 20 years, first as president and then taking over as patron from the late Queen Elizabeth. Asked to explain what he does in that role, William joked: “Just don’t mess up.” He said he’s also hoping that the World Cup will be played in England one day and he’s been trying to help with that bid.
As for the United States’ hosting of the World Cup, William said the country has done a “fantastic” job so far. Asked what might be the biggest “culture shock” for English fans coming to America, William replied: “The scale of your stadiums, I think the size of them, is really going to be quite a shock for a lot of fans. We really know our football, so to see stadiums that are bigger and kind of an amazing atmosphere that we can also emulate here, that’s quite a big deal.”
William added that he’ll “definitely” come to the U.S. for the World Cup final should England make it that far. Travis noted he’d probably be in Missouri at training for the upcoming NFL season when that match takes place. “Tell me who I need to write to, Travis; we’ll get you out of there,” William joked. Travis jokingly replied: “Coach [Andy] Reid, listen, Prince William called. I’ll be back tomorrow.”
Turning to American football, which has had a presence in England for a number of years, William said the sport is getting more popular in the island nation but noted that Brits could use a primer on the rules.
“I think if we could understand the rules a bit more over here, that might help,”he quipped, “because … it is quite tactical, and it’s those sort of short breaks of play. We over here are a bit more used to a match running for 90-odd minutes; it doesn’t really stop. So … explaining the tactics behind it [would make] it a bit more appealing to most people over here.”
After the conversation, Travis and Jason marveled that they were able to land Prince William as a guest.
“When we started this thing,” Travis began, as Jason finished: “We thought were gonna be talking to like, fat offensive linemen, not, not kings, queens, princes of other nations. Yeah this is pretty wild.”
Travis and Swift are expected to be married Friday in New York, with plans under way at Madison Square Garden for a big extravaganza. Guests were seen arriving at the venue Thursday night for what was reportedly a rehearsal dinner ahead of a bigger bash Friday.
William appeared onBritish morning show Heart Breakfastin May, where he was asked if he had received an invitation. “No comment,” he said, before adding: “I’m hoping, and I’m sure there might be an invitation around, but we’ll see.”However, according toPeople, William won’t be at the wedding.
Listen to the New Heights podcast with Prince William below.
