They may have missed the “I do’s”, but Prince William and Catherine, Princess of Wales weren’t far from Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce‘s minds on their big day – and insiders say there’s a lot more to their absence than meets the eye.
The future King and Queen were noticeably absent from the pop star and NFL player’s glittering Madison Square Garden wedding, despite William having known Taylor since 2013 and Kate finally meeting her – and Travis – back in May.
“Kate finally got to meet her and Travis in May and they all got on famously – to Charlotte’s absolute joy,” a source reveals to Woman’s Day. “Of course they were invited and wanted to be there, but there were several reasons why they couldn’t make it.”
At the top of the list is Kate’s punishing schedule. As patron of Wimbledon, her diary has been packed solid, and with her health still front of mind, a dash across the Atlantic simply wasn’t in the cards.
“Her health is still a huge priority and she needed a few days to recover after her charity walk, so a whirlwind trip to New York was going to be a logistical nightmare,” the insider says.
Still, the goodwill between the two camps is clear as day. During their May catch-up, William even joked on the radio that he was hoping for a wedding invite – and his recent surprise appearance on Travis’s New Heights podcast turned out to be the ultimate gift.
“William going on Travis’s podcast was probably the best wedding present the new couple could have ever hoped for, and shows how much goodwill is between them,” the source adds.
There was also the small matter of security. With arrangements at the star-studded venue already a logistical puzzle, Taylor herself understood a royal appearance would only complicate things further – and William and Kate had no intention of stealing focus from the bride.
“Taylor knew it wouldn’t be easy for them to attend, and if they had accepted she would have had to make major changes to the already-complicated security arrangements at the huge venue,” the insider explains. “Kate and William did not want to overshadow the bride, so it wasn’t the worst thing that they didn’t make it.”
But perhaps the biggest factor was much closer to home. With Prince George gearing up for his first term at Eton, his parents were determined to make the most of his last summer before boarding school.
“Neither of them wanted to leave the kids this summer with George on his last break before starting at Eton,” the source says. “William’s focus has been on his eldest and making sure he’s ready to hit the ground running.”
