The Queen Consort and the Princess of Wales paid tribute to the late Queen as they stepped out in Elizabeth II’s jewels for their first state banquet in their new roles. Camilla opted for the much-missed monarch’s diamond and sapphire tiara, while Kate wore a pearl bracelet belonging to the late Queen, as well as Diana, Princess of Wales’s earrings.
Both wore the Queen’s family order – miniature portraits of the late sovereign set in diamonds on a chartreuse yellow ribbon. The pair joined the King and the Prince of Wales and more than 160 guests for a glittering white tie evening affair at Buckingham Palace in honour of the South African president.
The sapphire collection, sometimes known as the King George VI Victorian Sapphire Suite, worn by Camilla was of great sentimental importance to the late Queen. The necklace was a gift from her beloved father, George VI, for her wedding to the Duke of Edinburgh in 1947.
She later acquired a diamond and sapphire necklace, formerly the property of a Belgian princess, which she had set on a tiara frame in the early 1960s, and went on to commission a matching bracelet. The Queen was pictured in the suite during a state visit by President Xi Jinping of China in 2015.
Camilla was dressed in royal blue lace evening dress by Bruce Oldfield, the Garter sash, Queen Victoria’s garter order and the late Queen’s family order. Kate wore a caped, white Jenny Packham floor length evening dress with sparkling detail on the shoulders, and her go-to tiara, the Lover’s Knot.
Kate also wore the family order, and the GCVO Star and Sash, as well as the four strand pearl bracelet belonging to the late Queen and Diana’s diamond and pearl drop earrings. The Lover’s Knot Tiara, a diamond and pearl-encrusted headpiece made in 1914, was often worn by her namesake Diana, Princess of Wales.
It was given to Diana by the Queen as a wedding gift in 1981. It was designed by the Queen’s grandmother, Queen Mary, and based on one owned by Mary’s grandmother, Princess Augusta, who married the first Duke of Cambridge.
The Queen’s family order was given to Camilla on her 60th Birthday by the monarch. Kate was also given the decoration by Elizabeth II.
The exact design and ribbon colour of a family order is different for each sovereign. The monarch decides on who and when to bestow the prestigious gift, which is usually given to female members of the royal family and worn on state occasions.
