Prince William took his children to old friend Taylor Swift’s sell-out London gig last night as he celebrated his 42nd birthday – along with fellow royals Zara and Mike Tindall, plus Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer and his wife Victoria.
Taylor kicked off the London leg of her record-breaking Eras Tour at Wembley Stadium, performing to fans, celebrities and politicians alike – as well as her American footballer boyfriend Travis Kelce.
The Prince of Wales was among the 90,000-strong crowd in London for the hottest ticket in town – celebrating his 42nd birthday dancing the night away with his three young children Prince George, 10, nine-year-old Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis, six.
Prince William and megastar Swift have long known each other – the pair shared the stage at Kensington Palace to perform Livin’ On A Prayer with Jon Bon Jovi at a charity event in 2013.
Last night’s show came after the military band at Buckingham Palace earlier in the day performed a rendition of Swift’s 2014 hit Shake It Off to mark the Eras Tour arriving in the UK capital for three nights this weekend ahead of another five in August.
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The couple, 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 had 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 celebrity-studded audience who joined Kelce in the VIP area alongside Delevingne.
American hairstylist Jonathan van Ness, more commonly known as JVN, posted videos of the glitzy night featuring actress Salma Hayek.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said in a post on X, formerly Twitter, that he was taking a ‘Swift campaign pitstop’ – a break ahead of the July 4 general election – to enjoy the concert with his wife.
William previously said of his duet with Taylor at the 2013 charity event for Centrepoint that he obeyed ‘like a puppy’ her demand he join her on-stage.
He recalled in a 2021 interview: ‘I can’t believe I’m actually telling you this story – I turn up and Jon Bon Jovi and Taylor Swift are at the event, which nearly knocked me off my feet.
‘And then, I went inside, met everybody, a lot of handshaking to do those nights, a lot of chatting. I try and be charming and interactive.
‘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.”
‘I walked up on stage in a trance and then sort of halfway through Jon Bon Jovi’s Livin’ On A Prayer song, I wake up.’
Ms Swift was clearly overwhelmed by the 89,000-strong crowd in the capital last night 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 capital after she called it her second home for the six years she was dating British actor Joe Alwyn.
Ms Swift has also dated several other British heartthrobs including singer Harry Styles and actor Tom Hiddleston.
Friday night’s concert was the first of three sold-out dates at Wembley, with the international sensation returning in August to perform another five.
During the show, Swift reminisced about gigs at King’s College London and the Shepherd’s Bush Empire that she performed earlier in her career.
She said: “You just continued to support me more and more and the rooms got bigger then bigger and now you’ve done this, sold out three nights in June and five in August.
‘I’m not the best at maths but I think that means we get to play Wembley Stadium eight times.’
Taylor’s adoring fans had been brimming with anticipation to discover whether she would perform any of her London-inspired hit songs.
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 The 1975 singer Matty Healy, with whom she reportedly had a brief two-week relationship 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 while touring.
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 mothers, fathers 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 BOXPARK Wembley on the Olympic Way walk towards the stadium’s entrances.
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, saying: ‘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.’
Also there were 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 song for every occasion.’
Lucy added: ‘I have grown up with Taylor Swift. She has been there with me through all the heartbreaks.’
Families and university friends got together to watch Taylor Swift’s first London performance.
Mum Jackie brought her 18-year-old daughter Eva and three friends from Bath to attend the concert.
She said: ‘We won the battle to get Taylor Swift tickets and now we’re here!’
Dad Ed, 51, from Blackheath in south-east London, put on his best party shirt to accompany his wife Tina and their 11-year-old daughter Odette to the show.
Birmingham University students Poppy, 27, Hannah, 26, Rachel, 26 and Joanna, 26, used the occasion to get back together – and to wear matching Taylor Swift T-shirts.
Rachel explained: ‘We all love Taylor Swift and we just can’t wait for the show.’
Nottingham University friends Harriet, 26, Heidi, 26, Nicole, 26 and Jade, 26, said they had met up especially for the concert.
Harriet said: ‘it’s going to be a fantastic night, a fantastic performance.’
German tourists Camille, 29, Julia, 28, Malena, 27 and Lena, 27, had flown over especially from Bremen for the show.
Camille explained: ‘We came to see the Queen of music.’
Teenagers Evie Mulcahi, 18, 19-year-old Jess Dobson, Frankie Epsom, 19, and Katie Mayling had come from Derby to take part in this highly anticipated event.
Evie said: ‘Taylor Swift is simply the best. She gets all different people together to have a good time – and she’s so cool.’
Becky Colton, 28 and Alice Parkinson, 28 had come from Nottingham for the show.
Becky explained: ‘Taylor Swift is an icon. This is history.’
Best friends Charlotte Harris, 29, and Sophie Wayman, 31, from Essex, explained how they had dreamed to seeing Taylor Swift together.
Charlotte said: ‘We’ve been friends all our lives and we always dreamed of going to see a Taylor Swift concert together.’
It has become a tradition for Swifties to trade friendship bracelets at the Eras Tour as a nod to a lyric from the nostalgic anthem You’re On Your Own Kid.
Taylor sings: ‘So make the friendship bracelets, take the moment and taste it.’
Many fans arrived as early as Tuesday in preparation for last night’s concert, lying under blankets and camping out in tents for several days.
More of the 90,000-strong crowd made their way to the arena, with those who forked out for VIP packages getting to head into Wembley at 8am.
Among those venturing from worldwide to see Taylor were long-distance friends Filip and Bailey, who made separate journeys all the way from Croatia and Florida respectively.
Speaking about why they had come to London, Bailey said: ‘I can’t wait to see Taylor – this is like the best show to go to.’
Filip added: ‘It feels special, dazzling and magic here.’
Meanwhile, friends Rachel and Yan travelled from Ipswich in Suffolk to catch a glimpse of Taylor taking to the stage.
Rachel said: ‘We’re so excited to be here, I’m hoping to hear the original songs from the first album.’
Along with those wanting to hear tracks from Swift’s 2006 self-titled debut, the pair said they were particularly looking forward to hearing hits from her second 2008 album Fearless.
Megan, 26, who hails from Birmingham, said the experience was ‘amazing’ as she prepared to see the star.
She told the Evening Standard: ‘Taylor is such a great example of female empowerment. I love country music and that’s how I got into her.
‘I’m just so excited to be here. It was like a war to get tickets online, but now I’m here it’s all worth it.’
Luna Musch, who travelled from the Netherlands, said: ‘I can’t believe I’m here – I love her and her music. She is so positive. Her talent is just incredible.’
The doors at Wembley officially opened at 4.30pm, with support acts Mette and Paramore taking to the stage from 5.45pm before Taylor at 7.30pm.
Fans dotted throughout the UK have been waiting over a year for Taylor to arrive on British shores after she began her record-breaking tour in Glendale, Arizona, in March last year.
Since then she has ventured across South America, US and Asia, whilst also performing in several cities across Europe, with her NFL boyfriend Travis Kelce supporting from the crowd.
She changed the lyrics in her final song on Friday night to: ‘Karma is the guy on the Chiefs, coming straight home to me.’
It is a change she has made before when Kelce is in the crowd, but still drew screams from the assembled devotees.
She also told fans at Wembley: ‘We have a lot of fun memories, but this feels more special and more fun than any tour I’ve done.
‘We get to take all the memories we’ve made over the years and put them all in one tour.’
This month alone, she has already performed before packed-out crowds in Edinburgh, Liverpool and Cardiff.
However, the superstar’s 100th show of her record-breaking Eras Tour last Thursday at Anfield Stadium, Liverpool, didn’t quite go off without a hitch.
The international pop sensation hailed the commitment to the countless fans who braved the rain to catch a glimpse of her landmark show.
And while the 53,000 crowd at Anfield cheered along to her greatest hits for three hours, not everyone left completely satisfied.
Certain VIP ticketholders were left briefly disgruntled after paying to sit behind a white tent – largely blocking the view of their beloved idol.
And poor VIP seat placements weren’t the only mishap of the night as eagle-eyed fans were quick to spot the huge screen showcasing Taylor’s performance had momentarily switched off.
With London overcome by ‘Swiftmania’, the military band at Buckingham Palace won plaudits for their version of her hit Shake It Off earlier on Friday.
Avideo titled Changing of the Guard (Taylor’s Version), was posted on X (formerly Twitter) by the Royal Family’s official account on X, formerly Twitter.
The band stood on the forecourt of Buckingham Palace blasting trumpets, saxophones and other wind instruments, as the caption read: ‘Can’t stop, won’t stop groovin’.’
A series of Swift-inspired special tie-ins have been taking place across London, such as a ‘Taylor trail’, a redesigned Tube map naming stations after her song titles and two new artworks on display at Wembley Park.
It was revealed on Thursday that Swift’s fans were expected to boost the London economy by £300million as the capital hosts more Eras Tour shows than any other city in the world, with nearly 640,000 people expected to attend across the eight dates.