Prince William Recalls Moment Taylor Swift Pulled Him up to Sing With Jon Bon Jovi

Even royalty gets a little star-struck around Taylor Swift. In a special Christmas episode of the Apple Fitness+ Time to Walk audio series, Prince William recalled the exciting moment in 2013 when he got to take the stage with Swift and Jon Bon Jovi during a charity event at Kensington Palace. Joining the two music superstars on stage “nearly knocked me off my feet,” the Duke of Cambridge admitted.

Usually, during events like the Centrepoint Gala Dinner, William does “a lot of handshakings” at the beginning before he gets to sit back, relax and enjoy the evening. Swift wasn’t going to let him get away that easily though. “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,’” William recalled, reports CNN.

Even though it happened eight years ago, William still doesn’t understand what “came over me” and he is still “cringing” about what happened next. “I don’t understand why I gave in,” he said. “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, okay, that seems like a great idea. I’ll follow you.’”

William was “in a trance” on stage as he tried to remember the words to Bon Jovi’s “Livin’ on a Prayer.” “Beneath my black tie, there was a lot of sweating going on. I felt like a swan, where I was trying to keep myself composed on the outside, but inside, the little legs are paddling fast,” he said. Although William has learned to become comfortable with public speaking, public singing is a whole other matter for him. “At times, when you’re taken out of your comfort zone, you’ve got to roll with it,” he said.

Elsewhere in his episode of Time to Walk, William recalled the most important songs in his life and his experiences as an air ambulance pilot. He remembered how helping a young boy hit by a car made an impact on his mental health. “My personal life and everything was absolutely fine. I was happy at home and happy at work, but I kept looking at myself, going, ‘Why am I feeling like this? Why do I feel so sad?’ And I started to realize that, actually, you’re taking home people’s trauma, people’s sadness, and it’s affecting you,” he said. He understood how “lucky” he was to have someone at the air ambulance service to talk with and encouraged listeners to seek similar support.

William, 39, is reportedly a fan of Time to Walk and asked Apple to record an episode. Apple agreed, and will donate to three mental health charities chosen by William, Shout in the UK, Crisis Text Line in the USA, and Lifeline in Australia. The episode was released on Monday for Fitness+ subscribers. It also aired for free on Apple Music 1 on Monday morning.