Taylor Swift kicked off the London leg of her Eras Tour at a sold-out Wembley stadium on Friday evening, performing to fans, celebrities and politicians alike.
In amongst the crowd of nearly 90,000 fans, rumour has it that Prince William celebrated his 42nd birthday dancing the night away with his three young children – Prince George, ten, Princess Charlotte, nine, and Prince Louis, six – although Buckingham Palace declined to comment.
Prince William and megastar Swift have a history – the unlikely pair shared the stage at Kensington Palace to perform Livin’ On A Prayer with Jon Bon Jovi at a charity event in 2013.
Although this performance took place more than a decade ago, it would appear the royals have continued to be committed fans of Swift.
The military band at Buckingham Palace performed a rendition of Swift’s 2014 hit Shake It Off to mark the Eras Tour arriving in the UK capital.
The crowd hold up flashlights on their phones as Taylor Swift takes to the Wembley stage
Swift, 34, wore a ballgown as she sang her hit Enchanted at Wembley Stadium
The American singer performed in front of 90,000 fans including celebrities and politicians
It is one of eight performances to take place in London as part of the Eras Tour
The singer wears a white corseted dress with her lyrics scrawled across it
Swift performs alongside 15 dancers and four backup singers
The singer wore a sparkling blue and orange number during her Eras Tour concert
Swift wore a bezazzled blue bodysuit to reflect her Midnights era
The singer was surrounded by feathers as she sang for the massive crowd
Taylor Swift (left) and Prince William (right) perform Livin’ On A Prayer with singer Jon Bon Jovi at a 2013 charity event in Kensington Palace
The night was made even more memorable for Ms Swift, 34, as she was reunited with her boyfriend Travis Kelce after a month apart.
The American football player, 34, flew in from Cannes with his older brother, Jason.
Ms Swift and Kelce, who are nearing their first anniversary, have not been seen together for over a month after they last enjoyed a romantic lunch on Lake Como, Italy, in May.
The Kansas City Chiefs star has so far been unable to support his girlfriend on the UK leg of her tour due to training commitments.
Bridgerton star Nicola Coughlan, 34, was among the star-studded crowd who joined Kelce in the VIP area alongside Swift’s close friend, model-turned-actress Cara Delevingne.
American hairstylist Jonathan van Ness, more commonly known as JVN, posted videos of the glitzy night featuring actress Salma Hayek.
Another familiar face in the crowd was Labour leader Keir Starmer who said in a post on X that he took a ‘Swift campaign pitstop’ to enjoy the concert with his wife.
Ms Swift was clearly overwhelmed by the 89,000-strong crowd and said: ‘Oh my god London, look what you’ve done. What better way to spend a Friday night than in the most exhilarating city in the world.’
Her first show in London was always going to be special for her as she shares a close affiliation with the city after she called it her second home for the six years she was dating British actor Joe Alwyn.
Ms Swift has also dated several British heartthrobs including singer Harry Styles and actor Tom Hiddleston.
June 21 was the first of three sold out dates at Wembley, with the international sensation returning in August to perform another five.
Travis Kelce arrives at Wembley Stadium to watch his girlfriend Taylor Swift perform to 90,000 adoring fans
Today is the first of three sold out dates at Wembley, with the international sensation returning in August to perform another five
Swift wears a blue and gold sparkling bodysuit as she takes to the stage at Wembley
The singer wears a berry-red dress as she performs songs from recent albums Folklore and Evermor
Taylor looked overwhelmed by the sheer number of fans at Wembley stadium
Sir Keir Starmer and his wife pictured at the Era’s Tour in Wembley
Starmer wrote on X: ”Swift’ campaign pitstop’
Around 90,000 fans have packed out Wembley Stadium
The audience watch Taylor Swift perform her extensive set list at Wembley Stadium
Fans film Taylor as she takes to the stage in London
Taylor changes outfits 16 times throughout her performance
A dancer helps Taylor get changed into a black sparkling blazer
Swift performs her song The Man to around 90,000 fans at Wembley stadium
Swift performs with an entourage of 15 dancers and four backup singers
Jason Kelce shows off his friendship bracelets at Wembley
Nicola Coughlan trades friendship bracelets with fellow Swifties from the VIP tent
Model Cara Delevinge (left) attends Swift’s concert in the VIP box alongside Nicola Coughlan (right)
She had an outfit change to a black dress with silver and gold tassels and black sparkly boots
Taylor with a blue guitar and sparkling boots at Wembley tonight
Taylor Swift performs onstage during ‘Taylor Swift | The Eras Tour’ at Wembley Stadium tonight
Taylor’s adoring fans were brimming with anticipation to know if she would perform any of her London-inspired hit songs.
Fans predicted that the American megastar would choose a London-themed tune as her surprise song.
Many hoped for Swift’s more melancholy hits such as ‘So Long, London’ and ‘The Black Dog’ from her recent album The Tortured Poets Department.
As the sparkling night drew to a close, the star sang Hits Different and Death by a Thousand Cuts – both of which have no reference to the English capital city.
But fans went wild when Taylor took to the piano and began singing her recent hit The Black Dog, as many predicted she would.
‘The Black Dog’ is largely believed to be about 1975 singer, Matty Healy, who she reportedly had a brief two week relationship with following her break-up with Alwyn.
The lyrics seemingly reference a Vauxhall pub, as well as band The Starting Line – whose songs The 1975 have covered several times during their tour.
Fans went wild when Taylor took to the piano and began singing her recent hit The Black Dog, as many predicted she would
Taylor Swift plays The Black Dog during surprise songs at Wembley
At each concert, the singer performs a selection of surprise songs on both her guitar and piano
Swift took to the stage at Wembley, changing outfits multiple times throughout the three-hour long show
Swift sings with a bedazzled guitar – embossed with the number 13
Swift kisses her bicep as she teases the crowd at Wembley Stadium
The 34-year-old is known for hit songs such as Cruel Summer and Love Story
Taylor waves her red cape at Wembley while performing her three-hour long set list
Swift plays multiple instruments throughout the night including the guitar
Wembley was awash with sparkling outfits, cowboy hats, gemstones and glitter as thousands of Taylor Swift fans gathered for her opening night in London.
Swifties travelled from across the country for the latest sell-out performance of her Eras Tour.
Teenage girls and boys were joined by mums, dads and younger siblings – and fans of all ages – ahead of the three-and-a-half hour gig, that has already blown the roofs off stadiums across Britain and Europe.
Devoted followers sang the lyrics of her many hits word-perfect that were blasted out at the Taylor Swift fan zone at the BoxPark Wembley on the Olympic Walk up to the stadium entrance.
Fans exchanged bracelets and discussed their favourite tunes ahead of the big event. Others joined long queues to buy official merchandise – t-shirts, sweat-shirts, hats and bags.
Among them were sisters Amna, 14, and Zainab Butt, 20, from west London.
Amna told how would not have missed this concert for anything in the world.
She said: ‘It’s Taylor Swift it’s a once in a lifetime opportunity.’
Zainab, a student, added: ‘This is going to be the best night of my life.’
Amelie Jones, 28, Lucy Goodwin, 28 and Caroline parish, 28 from Sussex.
Explaining what this concert meant to her Amelie said: ‘Taylor Swift has a ding her every occasion.
Lucy added: ‘I have grown up with Taylor Swift. She has been there with me through all the heartbreaks.’
Swift, 34, performs songs from her album Red in a glittering ombre bodysuit
The singer wears a shirt that said: ‘Who’s Taylor Swift anyway? Ew’