RICHARD EDEN: Why the truth of Taylor Swift’s royal selfie is very different to what Harry and Meghan’s Sussex Squad would have you believe

Taylor Swift’s meeting with Prince William, Prince George and Princess Charlotte last weekend certainly impressed the pop superstar’s boyfriend, Travis Kelce.

The American football player succinctly described our future king as ‘the coolest mother f*****’, adding that George, ten, and Charlotte, nine, were ‘an absolute delight’.

But Harry and Meghan may be less impressed by the meeting, which took place at Wembley Stadium during the singer’s hugely popular Eras Tour.

Taylor Swift with her boyfriend Travis Kelce and Prince William, Prince George and Princess Charlotte

Cheerleaders for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have since claimed that by attending such a high-profile concert, William was merely copying the California-based couple, who had themselves befriended another American pop singer, Beyonce.

A prominent American commentator with 1.3 million followers on TikTok labeled the meeting with Swift a “carefully orchestrated PR move,” stating: “I just want everyone to say, ‘Thank you, Meghan,’ for being the first member of the British The royal family really breaks with their historical formula when it comes to being photographed with celebrities and of course being dragged over the coals for it.’

However, royal insiders tell me that the truth could not be more different.

“Taylor Swift wanted to meet the Prince of Wales while she was in London,” a source said. “They already know each other, so the meeting made sense.”

Swift sang at Kensington Palace, William and Catherine’s London home, in 2013. During that performance – part of a fundraising concert for homeless charity Centrepoint – William memorably joined Swift and rock star Jon Bon Jovi on stage.

There’s something else worth remembering: the royal source is too diplomatic to point out, but at Wembley, Taylor Swift courted the royal family. In the case of Harry and Meghan she are the ones courting the royal family of show business.

A vivid example of this came in 2019 when the couple, still part of The Firm, attended the London premiere of The Lion King.

Harry and his American wife, a former actress of course, were seen on camera speaking to some of Hollywood’s most influential figures. Video footage showed the duke praising Meghan’s voiceover skills to the film’s director, Jon Favreau, as Beyonce and her husband, rapper Jay-Z, looked on.

Beyoncé meets Prince Harry and Meghan at the 2019 premiere of The Lion King

During the exchange, Beyonce was previously seen covering her face, appearing uncomfortable and looking away. Social media users joked at this point, suggesting the singer was cringing.

In the clip, Harry tells Favreau, “If anyone needs additional voiceover work…” before Meghan interrupts and jokes, “That’s really why we’re here – it’s the field!”

At the same event, Harry also praised Meghan’s talents to Disney CEO Bob Iger, in a move that appeared to surprise his wife, former television host Willow Bay.

During the conversation, Harry asked, “Do you know she does voiceovers?”

Iger was heard replying, “Ah, I didn’t know that.”

Harry then replied, ‘You seem surprised. She’s really interested.’ The Disney chief then said, “We’d like to try it. That is a great idea.’

Prince Harry challenges Meghan to Bob Iger for a Disney voiceover at The Lion King premiere

The exchange took place months before Meghan was hired by the company to work on a Disney project in exchange for a donation to Elephants Without Borders, a conservation and wildlife research charity.

This meeting at the premiere of The Lion King wasn’t the first time the royal couple appeared to court stars and key figures from the entertainment world.

At their wedding in Windsor in 2018, some of Harry’s old friends were surprised to see famous actors and television personalities among the guests – people they didn’t know had ever met the Prince.

During the ceremony, Princess Diana’s former housemate, Carolyn Bartholomew, reportedly turned to Hollywood star George Clooney and his wife Amal, who were sitting next to her, and asked her how they knew Harry or Meghan.

“We don’t do that,” the Clooneys reportedly replied, according to Boris Johnson’s sister Rachel.

Amal and George Clooney arrive at St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle ahead of Prince Harry’s wedding to Meghan in 2018

In 2022, I revealed in my Daily Mail social diary, Eden Confidential, that Spider-Man stars Tom Holland and Zendaya were stunned to have been contacted out of the blue by Harry and Meghan asking if they could meet.

“Tom had never met or spoken to Harry before, so he didn’t know what they wanted,” a source told me at the time.

The actors did meet the Sussexes, although it was notable that neither later appeared on her Spotify podcast series Archetypes.

Another figure notable by her absence from Meghan’s series was Taylor Swift. The Duchess reportedly sent her a handwritten note asking the singer to appear on Archetypes.

There was, you might say, a Swift rejection.

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