Princess Kate made a radiant return to full royal glamour this evening as she attended the state banquet at Windsor Castle, marking her first public appearance in a tiara and formal evening gown since 2023. Kate wore Princess Diana's Lover’s Knot Tiara and a dark red silk creponne gathered evening gown, with caped back detailing, designed by Sarah Burton for Givenchy.
In a poignant show of strength and continuity, the future Queen joined the King, Queen and the Prince of Wales at the glittering white-tie event hosted in honour of French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte.
It was the first state banquet held at Windsor Castle in over a decade, staged in the historic St George’s Hall with a specially decorated 50-metre table laid for 160 guests.
Kate’s appearance was not only a return to royal formality but a deeply symbolic moment, as she continues to gradually resume public duties following her cancer diagnosis.
Princess Kate sends message of resilience in Princess Diana's tiara as she arrives at Windsor Castle.
Instagram / Prince and Princess of Wales
The Princess, 43, was confirmed by Kensington Palace earlier today to be attending the event, one of her most formal engagements since undergoing major abdominal surgery in January 2024 and revealing in March that year that she was receiving treatment for cancer.
She announced in January this year that she was in remission following a course of preventative chemotherapy.
The Princess of Wales wore a floor-length evening gown and sparkling tiara, reviving a sense of timeless royal elegance that has come to define her style.
Kate also wore earrings that belonged to the late Queen Elizabeth II, the Rosette of Grand Officier l’ordre nationale du merité, the Royal Family Order of King Charles III, the Royal Family Order of Elizabeth II, the Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order and the GCVO sash and star. Her choice reflected the same polished diplomacy she brought to earlier state banquets.
Princess Kate wore a Givenchy red gown.
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At the last state banquet she attended in November 2023 at Buckingham Palace, held in honour of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, she wore a white Jenny Packham gown and the rarely-seen Strathmore Rose Tiara — a romantic floral diadem once worn by the Queen Mother.
A year earlier, in 2022, she chose another Packham creation and Queen Mary’s Lover’s Knot Tiara for the visit of South African President Cyril Ramaphosa.
That particular tiara, featuring a row of diamond-encrusted arches and swinging pearls, was also a favourite of Diana, Princess of Wales.
The King, Queen and Macrons posed together in Windsor Castle.
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Princess Kate wore the Lover's Knot Tiara.
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Tonight’s ensemble added to that growing legacy of sartorial symbolism and royal heritage, underlining Kate's mastery of diplomatic dressing.
Her presence at the state banquet also followed her emotional remarks last week about her cancer journey, in which she described it as a “rollercoaster” and admitted to putting on a “brave face” for the sake of her family.
The Princess had previously pulled out of a planned appearance at Royal Ascot last month, but her reappearance this evening — dressed in full royal regalia — sent a powerful message of resilience and renewal as she stood alongside the Royal Family on one of the grandest stages of the monarchy.
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