Prince William channeled his inner frat boy last night, taking to the stage with Jon Bon Jovi and Taylor Swift to deliver a rousing chorus to the New Jerseyman's rock classic, Livin' On A Prayer.
Few guests could have guessed what was about to happen as Jon Bon Jovi stood on the stage strumming his guitar, teasing William, saying, "Just maybe, the karaoke kid could come up and sing along [a reference to the fact that William sung Livin' On A Prayer at his cousin Zara's wedding?] ...You don't have to do it your Majesty, I understand, I can't fly helicopters or ride motorcycles like you do. That's cool, that's cool. A couple of words..."
To the amazement of the 600 guests, who included British rapper Tinie Tempah, singer-songwriter James Blunt and the actor Colin Firth, William was led up to the stage by singer Taylor Swift as Jon Bon kicked off an acoustic version of the college classic, telling william, "Take that long, long walk up here."
He nervously adjusted his bow tie as the rocker went through the chorus, but when the verse came, leaned in to the mic and bellowed like any good freshman about the importance of holding on to what he had got before reflecting that it didn't really matter if he and his lady made it or not (although the Queen might have other ideas).
William and Taylor high-fived after the first chorus - and he stayed up on stage for a second round.
The entire crowd (many of them recording the moment on cellphones), were on their feet for the "Woh-oh" pay-off line of the song, which was the stand-out track on the extravagantly-coiffed singer's 'Slippery When Wet' album, released when William was a babe of four.
Jon Bon was one of the musical guests performing at a $800-a-head Winter White's gala at Kensington Palace in aid of the homelessness charity Centrepoint.
Taylor Swift performed Trouble and Fifteen, and told the audience: "It is my first time playing at Kensington Palace or any other palace for that matter. I have to thank you, Prince William, for having me. It’s amazing. To call attention to this age group especially, teens and young adults."There were more laughs when James Blunt dedicated the song, "You're Beautiful" to William.
FOOTNOTE: The words of Livin' On A Prayer have remained a mystery to me even after all these years of bellowing it at parties, however that font of all knowledge Wikipedia explains: "The song is about a fictional working class couple, Tommy and Gina, who struggle to make ends meet and maintain their relationship. Tommy "used to work on the docks" but because the "union's been on strike, he's down on his luck". Gina works at a diner, "workin' for her man".
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