The women of the Royal Family were resplendent Tuesday evening for the first State Banquet of King Charles III’s reign. Here’s a round-up of what everyone wore.
Queen Camilla
The Queen debuted a new tiara for her first State Banquet as Queen Consort, wearing the Modern Sapphire Tiara.
Queen Elizabeth II purchased a sapphire necklace that once belonged to Princess Louise of Belgium, had it reset as a tiara and wore it with regularity from the 1960s onwards.
Queen Camilla paid special tribute to her late mother-in-law by wearing pieces from the set of King George VI’s Sapphires, a wedding gift to Queen Elizabeth II in 1947. Queen Camilla wore the necklace and bracelet from this suite and a pair of sapphire earrings from a separate collection. She also wore a separate bracelet on the left hand from another collection.
Queen Camilla wore the sash and star of the Order of the Garter—of which she was made a member earlier this year by the late Queen Elizabeth II—and the Royal Family Order of Queen Elizabeth II.
The Princess of Wales
Catherine stuck to a more traditional choice, wearing her usual Queen Mary’s Lover’s Knot Tiara. The hanging pearls that make up the arches of this tiara are a familiar sight to royal watchers as one worn frequently by the late Diana, Princess of Wales.
Catherine paired the Queen Mary’s Lover’s Knot Tiara with pearl and diamond earrings from Diana, Princess of Wales, and a four-strand pearl bracelet from Queen Elizabeth II.
The Countess of Wessex
Sophie’s dark green Suzannah gown was complemented by the aquamarine in her tiara. The Countess of Wessex wore the Wessex Aquamarine Necklace Tiara, a convertible piece she has worn in both forms since its royal debut in 2005. The central aquamarine is framed by diamonds in wave-like arches.
Sophie paired the Wessex Aquamarine Necklace Tiara with her insignia from the Royal Victorian Order and the Royal Family Order of Queen Elizabeth II. Her earrings are from Queen Elizabeth II’s pear-shaped parure set, and her necklace was also from her late mother-in-law’s collection, the Modern Fringe necklace.
The Duchess of Gloucester
The Duchess of Gloucester wore one of the largest tiaras in her arsenal, the Cartier Indian Tiara, which is covered in diamonds, sapphires and pearls arranged in an Indian-inspired design. The tiara’s provenance dates back to the early 1900s and was designed by Cartier; it was originally owned by Princess Marie Louise, a granddaughter of Queen Victoria, and passed to the current Duchess of Gloucester via her husband. Upon Princess Marie Louise’s death in 1956, she bequeathed the tiara to her godson, the present Duke of Gloucester.
The Duchess of Gloucester also wore insignia of the Royal Victorian Order and the Royal Family Order of Queen Elizabeth II.
