Kate Middleton made a showstopping entrance at Windsor Castle as she stepped into her starring role at the state banquet for the Sultan of Oman. The Princess of Wales stunned in a yellow gown by Elie Saab, topped with the one jewel royal watchers had been waiting all day to see, Queen Mary's Lover's Knot Tiara.
The tiara is Kate's go-to royal headpiece and her most frequent choice for grand occasions. It was also famously worn by Princess Diana, which gives every appearance an extra layer of emotion for royal fans. Catherine first debuted the Lover's Knot in 2015 and has returned to it again and again since. Tiara moments are rare for the Princess, who usually wears one only a few times each year, at state banquets, diplomatic receptions and occasionally royal weddings. Her first ever tiara moment came on her wedding day in April 2011, and across her royal life she has worn five different royal headpieces.
Her look was completed with King Charles's Royal Family Order, the badge showing the monarch's portrait, along with the Royal Victorian Order sash and star. Her earrings and bracelet carried their own quiet history, as both pieces belonged to the late Queen Elizabeth.
The banquet, held in St George's Hall at Windsor Castle while Buckingham Palace undergoes renovation, was hosted by King Charles and Queen Camilla for Sultan Haitham bin Tarik of Oman. Kate and Prince William helped the King and Queen host the evening, and the seating plan placed the Princess in one of the most honoured spots of all, with the Sultan seated between King Charles and Kate. William sat between the Omani Crown Prince and an Omani chef and cookery blogger, while Queen Camilla wore the Girls of Great Britain and Ireland tiara, a favourite of Queen Elizabeth that appears on some banknotes and coins, and which Camilla first wore in 2023.
Inside the hall, 160 guests sat at a single table running the full 50 metres of the room, laid with 480 knives, 480 forks and 160 spoons. In the centre of the table, between the King and the Sultan, stood a dragon candelabra commissioned in 1833 by King William IV. Around its base were pomegranates picked from a tree planted by the late Prince Philip on the castle's East Terrace around 50 years ago, and a royal aide said the tree had fruited heavily this year because of the warm summer. In a brand new touch, the salt dishes carried a light imprint of the King's royal cypher.
The drinks carried meaning too. Alcohol was served, but the Sultan did not drink it for the toast, and no cocktail was offered. Instead, the evening began with an Omani Kahwa, an Arabic coffee lightly spiced with cardamom and rose water, made in the royal household kitchens in Omani tradition. The meal ended with three teas in a nod to British tea culture, an iced Earl Grey, an iced mint tea in rose water and one warm cardamom-spiced tea.
The glittering night also underlined how fully Catherine has returned to the front line of royal duty. She has taken on a fuller workload since her cancer treatment ended, and she attended three state banquets in a single year last year. Fashion experts say there is huge pressure on her to deliver a fashion moment at these great state occasions, but that she handles it with a slow, steady and subtle evolution of style, never doing anything so surprising that it feels unsettling. On this night, in yellow and diamonds, she delivered exactly that, a future queen in complete command of the room.
Key Takeaways
- Kate Middleton wore a yellow Elie Saab gown with Queen Mary's Lover's Knot Tiara at the Oman state banquet.
- The Lover's Knot is her most worn tiara, also loved by Princess Diana, and she first wore it in 2015.
- She completed the look with the King's Royal Family Order, the Royal Victorian Order sash and star, and jewels that belonged to Queen Elizabeth.
- The Sultan was seated between King Charles and Kate at the 50-metre banquet table in St George's Hall.
- The table featured a dragon candelabra from 1833 and pomegranates from a tree planted by Prince Philip around 50 years ago.
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