Kate Middleton Honored 3 Royal Women with Her Elegant Banquet Look

Kate attended her first banquet as the Princess of Wales last night, looking angelic in a white dress, meaningful fine jewels, and a historic tiara.

The evening celebration, held at Buckingham Palace, was to welcome South Africa's president, Cyril Ramaphosa, who is visiting the country for two days as a guest of the royal family.

The princess's look for the occasion actually paid tribute to three important royal women: Queen Mary, Queen Elizabeth II, and Princess Diana.

The stunning diamond-and-pearl tiara, which complemented her white Jenny Packham cape dress encrusted with jewels at the shoulders, is Queen Mary's Lover's Knot Tiara—modeled after another piece called the Cambridge Lover's Knot Tiara. It once belonged to Queen Elizabeth II, and was also worn many times by Princess Diana. Kate has worn it to at least eight other state engagements, including to the annual diplomatic reception hosted by Queen Elizabeth at Buckingham Palace in December 2015 and in 2016, the State Banquet for the King and Queen of Spain in 2017, and for the queen's diplomatic reception in December 2019.

For the banquet, Kate also wore a layered pearl bracelet that once belonged to Queen Elizabeth, as well as a very special pair of diamond-and-South Sea pearl dangle earrings, which belonged to Princess Diana. Kate first wore the beautiful pieces in 2019, to attend the British Academy Film Awards.

Kate wore another pair of pearl-and-diamond earrings passed on from Princess Diana earlier on in the day, as well as her iconic Princess of Wales brooch, to welcome President Ramaphosa alongside husband Prince William.

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