Lorde may never be royal, but she did get the royal treatment on her 20th birthday.
Taylor Swift hosted a dinner for the "Royals" singer at ZZ's Clam Bar in New York City, inviting celebrity pals (Rachel Antonoff, Lena Dunham, Tavi Gevinson, Karlie Kloss and Mae Whitman) and Lorde's childhood friends from her native New Zealand (Katie Braatvedt, Maddy Budd, Eleanor Day and Jerry Florence). Aziz Ansari showed up wearing a cat-print tee—just like Swift.
Earlier in the day, the "Blank Space" singer Instagrammed a hand-painted card for the birthday girl. "Thank you for the music you make, the advice you give, the thoughts you provoke, and the way you've made my life more beautiful since the first day we met up in New York and ate burgers on a park bench and got attacked by squirrels," she said. "I. Love. You. So. Much. Ella."
Before the dinner began, Swift decorated the space with gold balloons that spelled out "U R 20." According to Lorde, the gesture made her feel like the "happiest birthday girl in the world."
Lorde later posted a picture of herself, Kloss and Swift. "had the best birthday party i've ever had tonight surrounded by my nyc family. all organised by tay who is as she says 'a mom with no kids.' i am ur kid and u love me so hard i could burst," the "Tennis Court" singer wrote. "here's to our 3 magic years of best friendship and more moments like this squished between angels."
The musician got silly with Swift and Gevinson in other photos, joking that while she she may look like "a tough as guts balloon veteran," she's "really a total sweet baby balloon enthusiast." Before the night was over, Swift came out and presented Lorde with a chocolate birthday cake. Sharing a picture with her Instagram followers, Dunham wrote, "happy 20th bday to my friend who is both 8 & 88. Tried to get her still but all she wants to do is dance. All the love @lordemusic."
Leaving her teenage years behind is bittersweet. In a lengthy Facebook post published earlier that morning, Lorde referred to herself a "newborn adult" and wrote, "All my life I've been obsessed with adolescence, drunk on it. Even when I was little, I knew that teenagers sparkled. I knew they knew something children didn't know, and adults ended up forgetting. Since 13 I've spent my life building this giant teenage museum, mausoleum maybe, dutifully wolfishly writing every moment down, and repeating it all back like folklore. And now there isn't any more of it."
About a year ago, Lorde made the "deliberate choice" to withdraw from life in the spotlight. "And let me tell you, as much as I love being full noise album cycle girl, it's been a mother--king joy," she explained, adding, "I turned inwards to my friends, my family, towards this moment, so I could learn more about who I was, and so I could let this new project show itself to me."
After 12 months of "colossal" moments, Lorde said she wrote the best lyrics of her entire life. It'll be a while before she shares her new music with fans, though. "I just need to keep working a while longer to make it as good as it can be. You'll have to hold on," the "Team" singer wrote. "The big day is not tomorrow, or even next month realistically, but soon. I know you understand."