bitchy | Princess Kate wore Jenny Packham & the Strathmore Rose Tiara to a state banquet

Here are photos from last night’s state dinner/banquet at Buckingham Palace for the South Korean president and his wife. Day 1 of the state visit was full of the royal setpieces – a ride in a gold carriage, an enormous military parade and ride down the Mall, meeting Kate in her silly Red Riding Hood getup. Then this – a white-tie dinner, with King Charles cracking Kpop and Gangnam Style jokes.

The most notable stuff was the fashion and jewelry. Both Queen Camilla and the Princess of Wales wore new gown – Kate wore a custom Jenny Packham gown in white, with gold embroidery (you might even say it was part of her “golden thread” hahaha). She paired her look with white opera gloves because they’re all still shook about Meghan’s elegant gloves at QEII’s funeral. Plus, I would imagine the gloves cover up all of Kate’s persistent hand injuries and chronic bandage usage. Camilla wore a custom Fiona Clare gown in rich, red velvet. The sleeves, shoulders and bell-cuffs are entirely wrong on Camilla. The pirate-sleeve phenomenon is endemic for royal women.

As for the tiaras, I was wrong. I predicted that Kate would only be given one of the few tiaras she’s worn before, like the Lotus Flower or the Cambridge Lover’s Knot. But no, she wore the Strathmore Rose tiara, which used to belong to Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mum. The Strathmore Rose tiara was given to then-Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon when she married the then-Duke of York in 1923. The tiara has barely been seen in the past decade outside of one 2002 exhibition and this is the first time it’s been worn in decades, apparently. Kate also got to borrow a pair of QEII’s diamond earrings from the royal collection.

Meanwhile, Camilla wore QEII’s ruby-and-diamonds tiara, last seen at a state banquet in 2019, when QEII wore it when Donald Trump visited. It features 96 rubies “given” to QEII “by the people of Burma.” It’s also part of the deconstructed Nizam of Hyderabad tiara? As in, QEII had a famous diamond tiara – a gift! – deconstructed and then reconstructed with rubies? Something like that. Camilla probably wore it because she wanted something to match her dress.

Note by CB: Get the Top 8 stories about Will and Kate’s crumbling marriage when you sign up for our mailing list! I only send one email a day on weekdays.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.