AS the future King of England, we can’t imagine there are many things that actually embarrass Prince William.
But his surprise performance of Livin on a Prayer with Taylor Swift and Bon Jovi back in November 2013? Well, that’s certainly one of them.
In his new Apple+ podcast Time to Walk, the Duke of Cambridge recalled how he is big fans of both the musicians and was “knocked off his feet” when he saw them at the Centrepoint fundraising event.
The homelessness charity was championed by Princess Diana and William first became involved with them as a child.
He joked: “I can’t believe I’m actually telling you this story […]
“I went inside, met everybody, a lot of handshaking to do those nights, a lot of chatting. I try and be charming and interactive.
“Occasionally, you’re not having a good day, and it’s a little harder to come by.
‘When I sat down to watch Jon Bon Jovi do his performance, I thought, ‘That’s it. My job is done. I’ll get a dinner in a minute, and I might be able to have a chat to some people, and, you know, I’m off-duty a little bit now.”
However, Taylor had other plans.
He continued: “[Taylor Swift] was 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.’
“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.”
But by the time he reached the stage, William realised he hadn’t quite thought it through and struggled to even remember the words to Livin on a Prayer.
Describing how he was in a “trance”, William added: “Sort of halfway through Jon Bon Jovi’s Livin’ On A Prayer song, I wake up.
“And I’m thinking to myself, “Am I standing on the stage singing Livin’ On A Prayer when I don’t even know the words?”
“But the Centrepoint young guys and girls were there, all loving it and cheering away.
“So I thought, ‘Well, if they’re enjoying it, then the night is for them. So sod it. I can’t be the doofus who’s going to ruin it for everyone.”
“And so I desperately try and remember some of the words and sing as hard as I can.
“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.”
Although the Duke says he’s perfectly comfortable appearing on stage to give a speech, singing in front of an audience was completely new territory for Wills.
He continued: “At times, when you’re taken out of your comfort zone, you’ve got to roll with it,’ he says.
“And I think we’ve got to the stage in this life where we do micromanage ourselves.
“We do worry about: how do we look on social media? Who said what about me? What am I wearing? There’s so many pressures, but I think that making a fool of yourself is OK.”
In more Royal Family news, Prince William says Queen still walks corgis at 95 as he reveals ‘whole family’ loves walking… but doesn’t mention Harry.
And Prince William reveals unlikely song that revs him up for the week — AC/DC’s head-banging anthem Thunderstruck.
Plus Prince William and Kate Middleton have a ‘secret’ third home & it was a touching gift from The Queen Mother.
