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Prince William and Kate Middleton were not among the roughly 1,000 guests at Taylor Swift and Travis Kelce's wedding, but the reason for their absence has not been publicly disclosed.
Swift and Kelce married on Friday, July 3, 2026, at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The star-studded ceremony was officiated by Adam Sandler, according to CBS News and ABC News. Although the Prince and Princess of Wales did not attend, William remained unexpectedly connected to the wedding-day conversation through an appearance on the Kelce brothers' "New Heights" podcast.
PEOPLE reported on June 30 that William and Kate would not be attending the wedding. However, neither Kensington Palace nor representatives for Swift and Kelce explained why. There is also no public confirmation that the royal couple received a formal invitation or declined one.
William had previously fueled speculation about a possible appearance when he was asked about the wedding during a May interview on the British radio program "Heart Breakfast."
"No comment," William initially replied before adding, "I'm hoping, and I'm sure there might be an invitation around, but we'll see."
Despite that playful response, William and Kate ultimately stayed away from the New York celebration. Their absence should not be characterized as a snub, particularly because PEOPLE later confirmed that the two couples had privately met in London before the wedding.
That meeting is believed to have taken place in May while Swift and Kelce were in England. It was reportedly the first time Kate met the singer and the Kansas City Chiefs tight end. During the private gathering, William and Kelce also discussed the prince appearing on "New Heights."
The resulting prerecorded episode was released at noon on the wedding day, only hours before the ceremony began. William did not appear live with the Kelces that day, as the conversation had been recorded several weeks earlier.
Reacting to Jason Kelce's elaborate introduction, William laughed and said, "That is quite the intro, guys. Amazing." The discussion focused largely on soccer, the World Cup and American football.
Travis also recalled meeting William and his children during Swift's Eras Tour in London.
"One of the coolest moments ever was meeting you and the little ones that day," Kelce told him. "Me and Jason joke about it all the time. We were so nervous to meet you guys and the royal family."
Swift and Kelce posed with William, Prince George and Princess Charlotte backstage at Wembley Stadium in June 2024. William's friendship with Swift stretches back even further: in 2013, he joined her and Jon Bon Jovi onstage to sing "Livin' on a Prayer" at a Centrepoint charity gala.
The private pre-wedding meeting and William's friendly podcast appearance suggest that the royal couple's absence was not evidence of tension. For now, however, the specific reason William and Kate did not travel to New York remains private.
Sources: PEOPLE on William and Kate's absence; PEOPLE on the couples' private meeting; CBS News on William's "New Heights" appearance
