Travis Kelce admits he didn’t know whether to bow to Prince William
Travis Kelce has admitted he wasn’t completely sure how to handle meeting members of the royal family.
During the most recent episode of the Kansas City Chiefs player and his brother Jason Kelce’s New Heights podcast, the pair opened up about what it was like to attend Taylor Swift’s shows in London at Wembley Stadium and meeting the Prince of Wales at one of them.
“He was there with little George and Charlotte,” Travis said, referring to the two oldest children William shares with the Princess of Wales. His wife, Kate Middleton, and his youngest son, Prince Louis, were not there.
“They were absolutely a delight to meet,” Travis said about the family. “I wasn’t sure if I was supposed to bow to them, curtsy, just be an American idiot and shake their hands, like: ‘Sup, dude.’ We wanted to be polite.”
Jason then chimed in, explaining that because they weren’t at an official royal event, they were not obligated to bow.
According to the royal family’s website there are no “obligatory codes of behavior” when meeting the King or any member of the royal family, but if you choose to remain traditional, men would bow only with their head. When first addressing a male member, they would be called “Your Royal Highness” and subsequently “Sir.” For a female member of the royal family, it would be “Your Royal Highness” again and subsequently “Ma’am.”
The retired Philadelphia Eagles player even talked about his own interaction with the royals, as he said he immediately felt “emasculated” and proceeded to move his beer “like 10 feet away.”
Travis then joked that he had never witnessed his brother give “that much respect” to a person before.
The two of them continued to talk about how much they enjoyed interacting with the royal family, especially as William allowed his kids to “be vocal.”
“I love it when parents ask their kids to be present, be vocal…” Travis said, as Jason added, “Encourage them to take a lead in the conversation.”
Jason even added that his favorite part was meeting Princess Charlotte, describing talking with her as being “the most electric part.” “Prince William was fantastic, but the highlight was Princess Charlotte,” he said. “She was so f***ing adorable.”
“Maybe because I have three girls now, [but] she had a fire to her,” Jason continued. “She was asking questions.”
The podcast episode appeared to be recorded after the brother’s attended Swift’s Friday night concert at Wembley, but before Travis performed as a backup dancer on stage during the Grammy winner’s show on Sunday.
To commemorate the moment, both Swift and William posted a selfie from the concert. Swift’s post even featured Travis standing in the background. “Happy Bday M8! London shows are off to a splendid start,” her post’s caption read.
Prior to meeting the royals, the older Kelce brother had jokingly revealed he was not a fan of the monarchy.
During an older episode of their New Heights podcast, the two were discussing Father’s Day traditions around the world and how some of them are meant to specifically honor kings, who can be seen as father figures to their subjects in certain countries.
“I’m out on honoring kings,” the former Philadelphia Eagles player said. “Listen, we’re Americans. We don’t do royalty.”
“F*** kings, but I wouldn’t mind [my wife] Kylie kneeling at my feet,” he added.
Travis attempted to get his older brother to change his mind and responded by saying: “Not f*** kings,” before he began to question how it would be acceptable for people to be kneeling at his brother’s feet.
“It’s out of respect, it’s Father’s Day,” Jason said. “Maybe feed me some grapes.”
He clarified that he didn’t want everyone bowing to him, but that his children should do it to “show him respect.”
