An historic State Banquet at Windsor Castle

This week, King Charles and Queen Camilla will be hosting French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife, Brigitte, for a State Banquet at Windsor Castle. The banquet will be the first in over a decade, when a truly historic State banquet hosted at the castle was in April 2014. 

From 8 to 11 April 2014, Irish President Michael D. Higgins made the first Irish State Visit to the United Kingdom in history. Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh hosted the Irish president and his wife at Windsor Castle throughout the visit. 

In the evening of Tuesday, 8 April, Her Majesty hosted the State Banquet held in St. George’s Hall. The hall has a 50 metre table; the Monarch and visiting head of state sit in the middle of the table. 

Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip both attended the dinner as did the then first in line to the throne, Charles, and his wife, Camilla.

Fittingly Her Majesty wore the large Vladimir Tiara in its emerald setting, with fifteen of the Cambridge Emeralds suspended from the diamond circles. The then Duchess of Cornwall chose the Greville Tiara for the evening, also known as the Boucheron Honeycomb Tiara. 

The State Banquet was a star-studded event, as always, with actors Dame Judi Dench and Daniel Day Lewis in attendance.