LONDON, ENGLAND: Taylor Swift allegedly turned down an invitation to perform at King Charles’ coronation concert in May 2023, Royal expert Omid Scobie claims in his new book, 'Endgame: Inside the Royal Family and the Monarchy’s Fight for Survival.'
Scobie did not specify why the ‘London Boy’ singer declined the gig, but on May 6, she was performing the last of her three concerts as part of ‘Eras Tour’ in Nashville, Tennessee, on the same date as the King’s coronation.
But Swift wasn’t the only big name to reportedly shoot down the offer, with other big names, including Adele, Elton John, Robbie Williams, Harry Styles, and the Spice Girls, also declining the offer to perform at the historical event, making it a challenge for royal officials to organize the concert, per US Weekly.
While most musicians declined to explain their decision, a representative for Elton John confirmed that the ‘Rocket Man’ singer had prior commitments on the same day as the King's coronation.
Why did so many artists decline to perform for King Charles’ concert?
Experts at the time claimed that most artists did not want to associate their brand with the monarchy following its scandals.
“The royal family has faced a number of PR disasters in recent times, and anyone performing at the show would have to consider whether there would be a backlash from appearing amongst their fans,” publicist Simon Jones who works for Little Mix, Niall Horan, and Louis Tomlinson explained to Rolling Stone in March.
‘American Idol’ judges Katy Perry and Lionel Richie, with Andrea Bocelli eventually agreed to perform at the big ceremony alongside Nicole Scherzinger and British pop group ‘Take That’.
The celebration was a success despite the initial difficulties as the royal family looked overjoyed during the performances at King Charles' Royal concert at Windsor Castle which was attended by 20,000 fans.
Princess Charlotte, the daughter of Prince William and Kate Middleton, was observed singing along to the popular songs ‘Roar’ and ‘Firework’ by Katy Perry.
In addition, Tom Cruise captivated the audience with a pre-recorded message commemorating Charles and Queen Camilla.
Despite the absence of both Swift and Meghan Markle, the Duchess of Sussex was able to attend one of the ‘Anti-Hero’ singer's record-breaking concerts in August 2023.
Alongside her British best friend Lucy Fraser, she was spotted in Los Angeles over the summer, enjoying Swift's performance at SoFi Stadium.
'Endgame: Inside the Royal Family and the Monarchy’s Fight for Survival' hits shelves on Tuesday, November 28, 2023.
Internet praises Swift’s boldness in turning down The King of England
People on X reacted to this news with all the praise for Swift remarking at the fact that the monarchy’s ways are nearing its end and their pompous celebratory events are no more appealing to the general public.
One X user said: "The boldness though."
Another user quipped: "King Charles is going through everybody to perform and everyone rejecting him, I’m crying. He’s bout to have to settle for Morgan Wallen and DaBaby."
Another X user remarked: "A Queen should never have to perform song and dance for a King..."
One user tweeted: "Taylor Swift is the true Queen."
Another X user wrote: "She knows how boring it's going to be at a coronation in this day & age."
Another user stated: "Turning down a royal performance is a power move only Taylor Swift could pull off gracefully."
One X user said: "She has her reasons. It's her decision to make."
Finally, this user tweeted: "Taylor swift is the queen yeah."
