Taylor Swift takes a selfie with Prince William after the royal reception at Buckingham Palace

Taylor Swift and her record-breaking Eras Tour took London by storm on Friday.

The Grammy winner not only serenaded nearly 90,000 fans at Wembley Stadium, but also took a backstage selfie with none other than Prince William and two of his children, Prince George and Princess Charlotte.

“Happy birthday M8!” Swift wrote on Saturday next to her photo with William, who turned 42 this week. “The shows in London are off to a great start.”

Within hours, the photo garnered millions of likes on Instagram. Although Swift’s boyfriend, Super Bowl champion Travis Kelce, was in the photo, William also posted an alternate photo without him on social media.

Swift received a warm welcome throughout London, and the city’s transport system received a redesigned route map in her honour, with the names of stops and lines replaced with references to her music.

The singer even received a tribute from Buckingham Palace, with a brass and wind band playing her 2014 hit “Shake It Off” during the Changing of the Guard.

“Can’t stop, won’t stop grooving,” the royal family wrote online alongside footage of the performance.

London Zoo also celebrated Swift’s arrival in the city, announcing on social media that anyone with Eras tour tickets could receive a discount on entry this month. The zoo also shared three old photos taken during a visit by Swift years ago.

“She visited us in 2012 and is now back in London for the biggest tour ever,” the zoo wrote, inviting Swift to visit again.

The singer’s Friday concert, the first of eight scheduled appearances at Wembley in June and August, attracted high-profile attendees including Labour Party leader Keir Starmer. Bridgerton’s Nicola Coughlan and actresses Salma Hayek and Cara Delevingne were also spotted in the audience.

“What better way to spend a Friday night than in the most exciting city in the world?” Swift reportedly told the crowd.

But the singer had to interrupt her performance on Friday – which followed sold-out shows in the UK including Cardiff, Liverpool and Edinburgh – at least four times as concertgoers fainted during a persistent heatwave.

Swift had already met William in 2013 at a charity gala at Kensington Palace, where she and Jon Bon Jovi brought him on stage for a performance of “Livin’ on a Prayer”.

Another royal, Meghan Markle, attended an Eras Tour performance in Los Angeles last year.

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