The Duchess of Cambridge tonight attended the Dutch State Banquet, in honour of King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima’s State Visit to the UK.
While there didn’t appear to be any live feeds of the event, we managed to catch a glimpse of the Duchess on her way to the Palace, as well as walking into the Ball Room for the banquet itself.
She was wearing a blue Alexander McQueen gown, which looked to be made from a satin material. As far as we can tell, it features a fitted bodice of ruched fabric, a scoop neckline and wide straps, with a rose/flower detail at the base on the right shoulder, and a fish tail skirt coming from the knee. The skirt comes from a v-shaped hem, which might be off-centre but the angle of the photos makes this difficult to tell.
More pics of Kate tonight, courtesy of DM. There is a rose on the right shoulder of the dress, it is incredibly close fitting and the clutch features stone embellishment on a blush and silver case. #duchessofcambridge #statebanquet pic.twitter.com/3p80cS43QL
— Victoria Howard (@TheRoyalExpert) October 23, 2018
You can just see the side of the tiara and the bottom of the skirt in this photo, between The Queen and King Willem-Alexander.
We suspect it was a custom piece for the Duchess, although there is more than a vintage feel to the gown, with the fabric and skirt. Many on Twitter didn’t like it, and I personally am not its greatest fan. The cut of the neckline and the skirt in the satin seem too much to me, rather late 80s.
Catherine was wearing a the Lover’s Knot tiara on loan from The Queen, which used to be worn by Diana, Princess of Wales. This piece was made by Garrard for Queen Mary back in 1913, and was based on a tiara worn by the then-Duchess of Cambridge (yes, really!), her grandmother. Mary’s differs in height a little, but features similar swinging baroque pearl pendants hanging from diamond arches, linked by lover’s knots. At one time, it had upright pearls on top, as the original, but they were later removed. It is one of our favourites.
A handy infographic from Ella Kay here describes the difference between the Cambridge Lover’s Knot tiara, and the Lover’s Knot tiara owned by The Queen.
Yet another reminder: the tiara Kate wears tonight is Queen Mary's Lover's Knot Tiara. The Cambridge Lover's Knot Tiara belongs to a German noble family. They are two separate tiaras, and it's easy to tell the difference between them. pic.twitter.com/S5MyxqkZPL
— Ella Kay (@courtjeweller) October 23, 2018
She also took out a new piece from the jewellery vault: Queen Alexandra’s wedding necklace. It was part of a parure worn on her wedding day in 1863.
The necklace features eight large pearls surrounded by diamonds, connected with swags diamonds, completed with three diamond and pearl drops, which are detachable and can be used as brooches. Queen Mary left the piece to Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother, and of course The Queen inherited it in 2002. Her Majesty has only ever worn the earrings and brooch in public.
Here is a wedding photo from the couple’s day; you can see the large pearls and festoons between.
More pics of Kate tonight, courtesy of DM. There is a rose on the right shoulder of the dress, it is incredibly close fitting and the clutch features stone embellishment on a blush and silver case. #duchessofcambridge #statebanquet pic.twitter.com/3p80cS43QL
— Victoria Howard (@TheRoyalExpert) October 23, 2018
And here you can see The Queen Mother wearing it in the past.
Embed from Getty Images Embed from Getty Images
Another big deal for tonight is that Kate was wearing the Royal Family Order for the first time in public. This is a personal gift from The Queen and is awarded ‘at the Monarch’s pleasure’. The order features a yellow or chartreuse ribbon, from which hangs a miniature portrait of The Queen, surrounded by diamonds with a Tudor crown atop.
Camilla and Sophie have also received these, and we have been waiting for the Duchess to be bestowed with the honour, too. Princess Alexandra, The Duchess of Kent, Princess Anne and The Duchess of Gloucester also wear these, having been awarded it by Her Majesty.
Interestingly, Kate must have a new one, as hers has been made of glass and not ivory as the others were. Joe Little has also explained that the Duchess was wearing the order at the Diplomatic Corps reception in December, but with only ‘car shots’ the door obscured the view of the order.
You might also notice The Queen’s two ribbons in grey and pink – these are her father and grandfather’s orders (George VI and George V).
The Duchess of Cambridge had a trio of pearls for her jewellery, choosing the diamond stud with pear-drop pearl from jewellers Collingwood.
We simply could not see any shoes to give you the information, and this is the best view of the bag:
— Louise Ghislaine (@LouiseGhislaine) October 23, 2018
It appears to be a blush hard case clutch, with stone embellishment to the front and silver edging. Our own Michelle thinks it is a bespoke Jerome C Rousseau clutch; the shape is similar to a piece Kate already owns in a deep purple that we saw in July 2017 at the Natural History Museum.
Also below we show the label’s Jan Meteor clutch, which though sold out, you can still view here. It features a like shape and similar stone embellishment.
We will update you when we have more.
You can copy Kate’s style with these options:
