Catherine, Princess of Wales in Jenny Packham at Buckingham Palace State Banquet

Posted on November 22, 2023

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“TIARA MOMENT! TIARA MOMENT!” Did your manly hosts run around flapping their hands and shrieking when the first pics of Princess Cathy in a tiara hit the wires last night? Well, no. We’re excitable, but not that excitable. Still, it’s always more fun to cover the Princess when she’s in the height of her princess drag. We were, however, fairly intrigued by which tiara she chose. Your girl reached her hand all the way to the back of the vault to haul out a trinket that hasn’t been seen in twenty years nearly a century.

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This is the Strathmore Rose tiara (yes, they all have names and yes, we can probably name most of the major ones on sight at this point), which was a gift from Lord Strathmore in 1923 to his daughter Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon upon her marriage to the Duke of York. Elizabeth would eventually become Queen Elizabeth, and then later in life become known as the Queen Mother when her daughter ascended. No one has worn it since the QM died and it would seem Catherine is the first person since its original owner to wear it. It’s an interesting choice, not least because it’s a slightly awkward and dated style of tiara. Duchess and later Queen Elizabeth wore it low across the forehead, like a headband, which was the style a hundred years ago. It would seem that Kate has had the frame made smaller so she can wear it high on her head. It works really well. She wears it better than the original owner did. It’s really smart of her to start staking her claim to some of these little-known or long-hidden pieces in the vault. Camilla’s going to continue to sport all of the late Queen’s most showy tiaras (as she should), so this is a time for Kate to define her own choices.

The gown is fine. It’s meant to deliver that regal feeling while also remaining something of a blank slate so she can sport the regalia. Most of the senior royals wear white to state dinners, as the late Queen was known to do.

Style Credits:
Jenny Packham White Embellished Dress
Anya Hindmarch Bag

 

[Photo Credit: PA Images/INSTARimages]

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