Travis & Jason Kelce Received a Quick Lesson in Royal Protocol Ahead of Meeting Prince William
Taylor Swift’s three-night stop at Wembley Stadium in London drew a host of American and U.K. celebrities, but Travis and Jason Kelce are only bragging about one particular public figure who attended the first night. Yep, the Kelce brothers were enamored of meeting Prince William and two of his three children, Prince George, 10, and Princess Charlotte, 8.
While Charlotte is the big Swiftie at the palace, Travis and Kelce gave the Prince of Wales their stamp of approval on the Wednesday, June 26 episode of their New Heights podcast. “Dude, he was the coolest motherf–ker,” gushed Travis. “He was so cool! I didn’t realize this because obviously we’re backstage meeting him because he was there with little George and Charlotte, and they were an absolute delight to meet.”
From the snapshots alone, the meeting looked magical, but it’s the small details that we didn’t hear about before that are juicy. The Kansas City Chiefs athlete spilled the tea about royal protocol and how they were briefed ahead of time on how to handle the greeting. “Wasn’t sure if I was supposed to like bow to them, curtsy, just be an American idiot and shake their hand,” Travis admitted. That’s when Jason chimed in with the revelation that they “did get [a] warning” about how to handle themselves.
“But they said that because we weren’t at like an official royal event, we didn’t need to bow or curtsy,” Jason continued. “If it would have been like an official meeting of royalty event, then it would have been that. But I did still address him as ‘Your Royal Highness.’” What would we do without the Kelce brothers dishing about what went on behind closed doors? The moment was treated informally, which probably was less stressful for Travis and Jason — they had a casual encounter with the royals.
The Royal.UK website spells out that “there are no obligatory codes of behavior when meeting The Queen or a member of the Royal Family, but many people wish to observe the traditional forms.” The page hasn’t been updated since the passing of Queen Elizabeth II, but they do advise anyone who might want to uphold the formal greeting. “For men, this is a neck bow (from the head only) whilst women do a small curtsy. Other people prefer simply to shake hands in the usual way.”
Prince William now has bragging rights that Travis finds him “very genuine, very cool,” but it sounds like the Kelce brothers were the ones who were most impressed.
Before you go, click here to see the 100 best photos of the royal family from the past 20 years.