More than a decade ago, Taylor Swift, Bon Jovi and Prince William got together on stage. No, that’s not the beginning of a bad joke.
In case you forgot, the trio sang Bon Jovi’s “Livin’ on a Prayer” at a Kensington Palace charity event in London in November 2013.
A 30-second clip of the video resurfaced on X thanks to the account @DigAdvice on Friday, June 21. When the video starts, Bon Jovi, 62, begins strumming his guitar, before saying, “And just maybe the karaoke kid could come up and sing a couple words.”
As the crowd cheers and Bon Jovi begins his 1986 hit, he continues trying to convince William, 42, to join him on stage. Eventually, the Prince of Wales agrees and is joined by Swift. The pair flank the artist, with Swift on the right dancing along and William awkwardly standing, laughing and adjusting his bowtie. Finally, the chorus comes and the three sing it into the mic. Swift and William high-five after.
Swift, 34, gave more insight into the moment during an appearance on The Graham Norton Show in 2014, explaining that before the camera started rolling, Bon Jovi pointed to William and said something like, “I hear you like to do this at karaoke night.”
11 years later, Bon Jovi, for his part, credited Swift with making it all happen.
“It was all her,” he said in an interview with The Independent. “She literally grabbed him by the arm and ran up on stage, and they both knew the words and sang along.”
He added, “I give her kudos and I’m grateful to this day because, you know, there’s the future king of England with the biggest pop star in the world singing one of your songs. It’s a great memory.”
William also spoke of the viral moment during a 2021 appearance on Apple Fitness+’s “Time to Walk” podcast.
“I’m sat next to Taylor Swift. She’s on my left. And after Jon does his first song, there’s a pause, and she turns to me. She puts her hand on my arm, looks me in the eye, and says, ‘Come on, William. Let’s go and sing,’” he recalled.
“To this day, I still do not know what came over me. Honestly, even now I’m cringing at what happened next, and I don’t understand why I gave in. But, frankly, if Taylor Swift looks you in the eye, touches your arm, and says, ‘Come with me …’ I got up like a puppy and went, ‘Yeah, OK, that seems like a great idea. I’ll follow you.’”
Proving even royals can feel self-conscious, William admitted he was sweating underneath his suit, but he knew he had to get up on stage and sing.
“I can’t be the doofus who’s going to ruin it for everyone,” he said. “And so I desperately try and remember some of the words and sing as hard as I can.”
