It has been a tough 2024 for Prince William, but the ship seems to be righting itself. Less than one week after the Princess of Wales’ return to public life at June 15’s Trooping the Colour (as she continues to receive treatment for cancer) and on the day of his 42nd birthday on June 21, William attended Taylor Swift’s first Eras Tour stop at London’s Wembley Stadium and, while there, seemed to have the time of his life alongside son Prince George and daughter Princess Charlotte.
This year has seen William handle not just his wife battling cancer, but also his father; a continued rift with his younger brother, Prince Harry; caretaking duties for both Kate and their three kids; a demanding workload as the heir to the throne; and, perhaps most taxing, doing all of this as the eyes of the world watch intently. But at the Eras Tour, as he danced to Swift’s “Shake It Off,” body language expert Judi James told The Mirror that William looked more like his old self as he entered the next year of his life.
William, James said, displayed an “outburst of pent up emotions that erupted joyfully at the Taylor Swift concert,” no doubt a release from the ample tensions of 2024 heretofore. Earlier in the week, at Royal Ascot—an annual staple in the royal diary—James noticed that “constant touches and gestures of maternal-style support and care” came from the women she called William’s “three fairy godmothers”: Carole Middleton (his mother-in-law), Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh (his aunt), and Zara Tindall (his cousin), all of whom were on hand at the event. These gestures “re-energized William, who is back on royal duties looking more like his old self after all the months of what must have been worry about Kate,” James said.
In addition to being caught on camera dancing in the box at Wembley, both Swift and the Prince and Princess of Wales shared selfies of their backstage meet-and-greet before the show last Friday night. On hand for the private meetup was Swift’s boyfriend, Travis Kelce, who called the future king “so cool” and “very genuine” on his podcast, “New Heights,” alongside brother Jason Kelce.
“Dude, he was the coolest motherfucker,” Travis said, to which Jason chimed in “He was awesome” in agreement, per People. Travis admitted that when he met William, George, and Charlotte backstage, he wasn’t sure what royal protocol was and whether he should “bow,” “curtsy,” or “just be an American idiot and shake their hand,” adding “We wanted to be polite, especially on this side of the park.”
Travis also added that Jason got to meet William and the kids, too, and noted that he had never seen his older brother “give someone that much respect” when he met them: “You put your beer, like, 10 feet away from you,” Travis joked, to which Jason responded “I didn’t have it in my teeth when I met [William],” referring to a viral clip of Jason holding a beer cup between his teeth during one of Swift’s London shows over the weekend. “They were wonderful people, and that’s what it’s about, you know?” Jason said. “Obviously, literally part of a monarchy, royalty. Yeah. Hard to be a down to earth human being, I would assume—but came off that way completely.”
In perhaps the most touching compliment, Travis said of William’s parenting, “If anyone’s doing it right, Prince William’s doing it right,” he said, according to People.
Prayerfully, as he turns a year older, this year will be far less dramatic than the back half of 41 for the Prince of Wales. Reflecting on William’s challenging year, royal biographer and editor-in-chief of Majesty magazine Ingrid Seward told The Mirror “The traumas of the past year have made him a stronger person. He has become the kind of man [his mother Princess] Diana always hoped he would be—kind, considerate, and able to take on whatever life throws at him.”
