Princess Kate Pairs a Sparkling Red Gown with Earrings That Once Belonged to Queen Elizabeth II
Queen #Queen
Princess Kate’s fashion streak continued tonight during a Buckingham Palace reception for members of the Diplomatic Corps.
The annual fête—also attended by King Charles, Camilla, Queen Consort, and Prince William—returns this year to welcome hundreds of members of the Diplomatic Corps into the palace’s state rooms. The late Queen Elizabeth II hosted the last reception, which took place in December 2019.
For the occasion, the Princess of Wales opted for her go-to evening gown designer, Jenny Packham. She made a shimmering display in a red gown embellished with a sparkling sequined pattern all over. To accessorize, Kate pulled from the royal collection, wearing the Lotus Flower Tiara—a pearl-and-diamond headpiece that she hasn’t worn since 2015—and diamond drop earrings that once belonged to Queen Elizabeth.
The Lotus Flower was made from a necklace given to Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother, as a wedding present from her husband, King George VI, according to Express. Since, the diadem has crowned the heads of Queen Elizabeth II, Princess Margaret, and Serena Stanhope, Margaret’s daughter-in-law.
The Diplomatic Reception follows on the heels of the Waleses’ trip to Boston earlier this month. The three-day tour, which concluded with the 2022 Earthshot Prize Awards, marked the couple’s first overseas trip since the death of the queen and their first trip to the U.S. since 2014.
While in Boston, Kate pulled off a string of fashionable appearances, from layering up in autumnal knits to sporting a festive houndstooth dress. At the Earthshot Prize Awards ceremony, the princess made a statement in the name of sustainable fashion, wearing a neon green off-the-shoulder gown rented from the British platform HURR. She accessorized the dress with an emerald-and-diamond choker necklace that previously belonged to her late mother-in-law, Princess Diana.