It's a big day for Swifties, as Taylor Swift's 12th album The Life of a Showgirl is released.
Previously, Swift's given London a sizeable nod, in tracks such as So Long, London and The Black Dog (in album The Tortured Poets Department) and London Boy (Lover). This time round, there's no explicit link to the capital, but delving a little deeper, there is a new London pilgrimage site for Swifties to visit.
The first track and lead single of the album is The Fate of Ophelia, an absolute bop, inspired by Shakespeare's Hamlet. As soon as the track names and covered art were released when the album was announced in the summer, parallels were drawn between Swift's promo photoshoot, and a famous painting of Shakespeare's character of Ophelia.
View this post on Instagram
This morning, in a BBC Radio 1 interview with Greg James, Swift confirmed that the painting influenced the song, saying "The album cover is a reference to the famous painting Ophelia painting, which then ends up being referenced in the music video":
The painting to which Swift refers is Sir John Everett Millais' Ophelia, painted in 1851-2, and depicting the Shakespearean heroine's death by drowning in a river. It's thought Millais was inspired by the landscape of the Hogsmill River at Ewell in Surrey. It's on show within the Beauty As Protest: 1845-1905 room within the Historic and Modern British Art gallery at Tate Britain, and can be visited for free.
As for that music video? It's not out at time of writing, due to be premiered at screenings of The Official Release Party of a Showgirl film being shown in cinemas this weekend. In the meantime, you can get acquainted with the song here:
Oh, and for any Swifties planning a pilgrimage to see the painting, you should know that Tate Britain is a mere 20-minute stroll across the river from Vauxhall pub The Black Dog, which has become a Swiftie hotspot since TTPD's release last April.
