Claims that Prince William copied the Sussexes by meeting Tayor Swift have been rebuked by royal sources.

Royal insiders have dismissed claims by Meghan Markle’s fans that Prince William’s meeting with Taylor Swift was a “carefully orchestrated PR move” by Kensington Palace. Fans had said it was in a bid to “copy” the Montecito camp.

The Prince of Wales went viral on social media last Friday after he was spotted attending the US superstar’s first concert at London’s Wembley Stadium on his birthday, joined by his two eldest children, Prince George, 10 and Princess Charlotte, nine.

William and his children met with Taylor, her boyfriend, Travis Kelce and his brother, Jason backstage after the show, with their selfie getting thousands of likes across all social media platforms.

However, supporters of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex soon rushed to compare the Waleses’s move to one previously done by the Montecito couple, who met US pop singer Beyonce in 2019.

According to the Mail, there was even one US commentator, with more than 1.3million TikTok followers, who branded William’s meeting with Taylor Swift a “carefully orchestrated PR move” and said: “I just want everyone to say ‘Thank you, Meghan’ for being the first member of the British Royal Family to really break out of their historic formula when it comes to being photographed with celebrities and, of course, getting dragged over the coals for it.”

Prince William singing with Taylor Swift and Bon Jovi (Image: Getty)

But palace insiders were quick to dismiss the claims, saying that the meeting took place as both William and Taylor “already known each other”.

They told the outlet: “Taylor Swift was keen to meet the Prince of Wales while she was in London. They already know each other, so the meeting made sense.”

The US superstar sang at Kensington Palace, the Prince and Princess of Wales’s London home, back in 2013 during a fundraising gala for the homelessness charity Centrepoint.

Taylor Swift and Prince William attended the Winter Whites Gala in aid of Centrepoint (Image: Getty)

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle meet Beyoncé and Jay-Z in 2019 (Image: Getty)

William notably joined the singer and rock star Jon Bon Jovi on stage to perform a rendition of “Livin’ on a Prayer.”

He opened up about the experience in 2021, saying: “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.’ Little did I think what was going to happen next.

“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.’ “

Meanwhile, the outlet’s editor, Richard Eden pointed out: “There is something else worth remembering, too: the royal source is too diplomatic to point it out but, at Wembley, Taylor Swift was paying court to the Royal Family. In Harry and Meghan’s case, they are the ones paying court to showbusiness royalty.”