Even athletes used to the game day pressure of playing in the NFL have situations that trigger their panic response. For Jason Kelce, one of those moments involved meeting the royal family.
Taylor Swift took it upon herself to reveal this tidbit to the world during her recent appearance on Jason and Travis Kelce's New Heights podcast. During the interview, Swift revealed that the retired Philadelphia Eagles center attended one of her London shows during the Eras Tour (the show in which his younger brother, Travis, famously joined his girlfriend on stage).
Travis Kelce on stage with Taylor Swift during the Eras Tour on June 23, 2024 in London.
The show marked a big night for both Kelce brothers, though, because offstage, Swift offered to introduce Jason to three members of the royal family—Prince William and his two oldest children, Prince George and Princess Charlotte, who attended the show (sadly, Kate Middleton and the royal couple's youngest child, Prince Louis weren't in attendance).
“Wasn’t this the week I got to watch Jason meet the royal family?” Taylor asked when the opportunity to turn the conversation toward the memorable meeting arose.
“He was like, ‘What do I do with my beer?’” Travis added, laughing.
At this point, Swift shared the full anecdote of the meeting, including her personal interpretation of what Jason was thinking as it went down.
“I watched him have this moment with his beer where he was like, ‘But I want to take it, but I know that I probably should not take it,’” Swift said, getting into the story and acting it out her impression of Jason holding up his beer can. “I watched this happen, and it kind of was the most amazing…”
Jason, for his part, quickly confirmed that Swift's take was spot-on.
“I like that you picked up on it because that was exactly what was going through my head," he interjected before Swift continued her masterclass on telling a playfully embarrassing story about a loved on on a national stage.
“Like if I don’t have my beer, what do I do with my hand now?” Swift added jokingly, speaking as "Jason" in her retelling of the story.
“Is it disrespectful to have a beer when you meet royalty?” Jason asked.
“Yeah, or is it authentic by having the beer? I would normally have the beer, wouldn’t they want me to be myself? I’m watching you say that in your head," Swift added of what she imagined Jason's inner monologue was at the time.
For what it's worth, even if the moment felt awkward to Jason, it didn't seem to bother the royals at all. The Prince and Princess of Wales immortalized the family outing on Instagram, proudly sharing a picture of Swift taking a selfie with William, George, and Charlotte backstage with the caption, "Thank you @taylorswift for a great evening! #LondonTSTheErastour."