The German state banquet at Windsor Castle on December 3 delivered all the expected pageantry of royal diplomacy, but it was Princess Kate’s jewellery choice that quietly stole the night.
Arriving alongside Prince William for the white-tie event hosted by King Charles III and Queen Camilla, the Princess of Wales unveiled the largest and rarest tiara she has ever worn.
For the first time, Kate stepped out in Queen Victoria’s Oriental Circlet Tiara, a 19th-century heirloom that had not been seen in public for 20 years. The appearance marked only the fifth tiara of her royal life and her third tiara moment of 2025, reinforcing just how sparingly and deliberately she deploys the most formal jewels in the collection.
Commissioned in 1853 by Prince Albert for Queen Victoria, the circlet is set with more than 2,600 diamonds. It originally featured opals before they were later replaced with rubies, which remain part of the design today.
The tiara was worn by both the Queen Mother and Queen Elizabeth II, although the late monarch wore it only once, during a 2005 visit to Malta. Kate’s decision to debut the piece at a German state event carried quiet symbolism, given Prince Albert’s own German heritage.
The Princess of Wales paired the historic crown with a shimmering ice-blue Jenny Packham gown, featuring an asymmetric neckline and flowing cape sleeves that trailed behind her through St George’s Hall. She completed the look with the Royal Family Order sash, the Royal Victorian Order star and a pair of diamond drop earrings once worn by Queen Elizabeth.
Until now, Kate’s tiara rotation had remained tightly curated: the Cartier Halo for her 2011 wedding day, followed by appearances in the Lotus Flower Tiara, the Strathmore Rose Tiara and Queen Mary’s Lover’s Knot. The Lover’s Knot had been her most recent favourite, worn for both the French and U.S. state visits earlier this year following her return to public life after cancer treatment.
Inside the castle, 152 guests gathered beneath a towering Christmas tree for the glittering banquet. Among those in attendance were Princess Anne, the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, along with cultural figures including Claudia Schiffer and composer Hans Zimmer.
Yet amid the ceremony and spectacle, it was the revival of a long-slumbering royal jewel that lingered longest in the memory.
