The Princess of Wales joined senior members of the Royal Family at Windsor Castle for a glittering state banquet in honor of President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump on Wednesday evening.
The dinner marks the climax of the two-day State Visit.
Around 160 guests attended the gala occasion at the State Dining Room in Windsor.
The guest list included political operatives, sports stars and heads of technology companies.
As tradition dictates, the King and President Trump gave speeches before the meal began, underlining the special relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom.
Let’s now take a look at Kate’s absolutely stunning dress and accessories.
Kate’s state banquet look:
The Princess of Wales embraced the grandeur of the evening in a spectacular ivory and gold dress. It’s by Phillipa Lepley.
The dress features an ivory bodice and skirt with a sheer lace overlay embroidered with gold flowers and ornate gold details.
The garment has a high neckline, long sleeves and a skirt that reaches the floor and opens at the waist, revealing the bottom layer.
The metallic embellishment all over the garment looked very majestic. I think this is one of Kate’s most ‘Princessy’ looks to date.
Below is a similar dress from the evening wear section of Phillipa Lepley’s website, I believe shown in silver:
Note that Kate’s overlay splits at the waist, rather than under the bust.
Phillipa Lepley is a couture wedding and evening dress designer based in South Kensington, London.
The dress cannot be purchased “ready to wear”. Anyone wishing to own the garment should consult Phillipa Lepley and commission a similar design.
The princess has only worn one of Lepley’s designs before, during a visit to the Bahamas in 2022.
Kate wore Queen Mary’s Lover’s Knot Tiara with her dress. It is her favorite tiara for state dinners. She has worn the dazzling pearl and diamond jewel an additional 12 times in public to date over the past decade (far more than any other tiara).
This stunning tiara features an interlocking design. lovers knots and diamond arches with large dangling pearls hanging from their base.
The tiara was created in the early 19th century as a wedding gift for Princess Augusta of Hesse-Cassel, Duchess of Cambridge. It passed to her daughter, the Grand Duchess of Strelitz, and her great-granddaughter, Princess Jutta of Montenegro, before its sale at Christie’s in 1981.
Queen Mary, niece of the Grand Duchess, became fond of the original tiara and commissioned a copy in 1913/1914. Upon her death, the tiara remained in the hands of Queen Elizabeth II. This is the version Kate is wearing today.
Both tiaras featured sparkling diamond lover’s knot bows, from which large oval pearls dangled, plus an additional row of vertical pearls placed atop each of the tiara’s diamond bows.
Over time, Queen Mary decided to remove the row of vertical pearls from her tiara, achieving a more streamlined appearance. This is how Kate still wears the tiara today.
The earrings Kate wore tonight also came from the royal jewelry vault. They once belonged to Queen Elizabeth II.
The late monarch wore large teardrop earrings (a line of four diamonds framed by a cluster of round stones) to the state opening of Parliament in 2012.
Kate debuted them at a public engagement in 2016 and have since become a trusted addition to her evening jewelry rotation.
In her hand she carried the Anya Hindmarch Maud clutch in ivory. The piece features decorative pearls on the closure of the gold frame of the bag. It is made with recycled satin.
It is still available in Anya Hindmarch’s website for £475.
Let’s take a quick look at Kate’s shoes now. The Princess wears the Aquazzura “Fenix 105” pumps in gold nappa.
These beautiful shoes feature a 105mm heel and a very pointed toe. The metallic leather has a mosaic effect that catches the light and makes the shoe shine. However, it’s the cutout details that make these shoes truly spectacular.
Kate has owned them for a few years, we first saw her wearing them with her ‘Goldfinger’ dress at the James Bond premiere.
Unfortunately, the shoes are no longer available to purchase. They retailed in my teresa for £555 and Farfetch for $750.
Let’s finish the blog post with a section I like to call “Things stuck in Kate’s dress”—a look at their honours, insignia, Orders of the Royal Family and brooches.
The pale blue sash, Maltese cross and star medallion signify that Kate is a Dame Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order (GCVO), one of the highest honors in the British honors system.
Queen Elizabeth II personally invested Kate with the order in 2019, a recognition awarded at the sovereign’s discretion for personal service to the monarch. The Royal Victorian Order was established by Queen Victoria in 1896.
Pinned to the sash were two Orders of the Royal Family: special honors bestowed by the reigning monarch on female members of the royal family, usually in recognition of dedicated service and support.
The yellow ribbon is the Royal Family Order of Queen Elizabeth II, awarded to Kate in 2017. Since then, she has worn it regularly for official occasions.
The blue ribbon is the Order of the Royal Family of King Charles III. This banquet marked the second time Kate wore the King’s RFO in public.
The order features a miniature portrait of the King surrounded by diamonds, pinned to a soft blue ribbon.
The earliest royal family orders were painted on ivory, but this practice has been discontinued due to ethical concerns surrounding the ivory trade. Instead, Kate’s order for Queen Elizabeth II was made with hand-painted glass, while King Charles III’s version uses a sustainable synthetic material called polymine.
— Note: Sorry for the harsh post tonight, it’s VERY late here and I’m incredibly tired. As usual, I’ll be reviewing the post and editing it over the next few days. But hopefully, that’s enough information for anyone looking for details of Kate’s outfit at the banquet.
