Bethan Holt, the London Telegraph fashion director and author of The Duchess of Cambridge: A Decade of Modern Royal Style, observes: “The princess is more conscious than ever of balancing a modern sensibility with nods to royal history and the continuity of a long lineage, which she and her husband represent.
“She rarely wears new tiaras, so it feels especially significant that she’s chosen the Oriental Circlet, perhaps as a reference to Queen Alexandra once wearing it on a state visit to Germany.”
Princess Catherine and Prince William leave after welcoming the German president and his wife at Windsor Castle.Credit: Getty Images
The almost violet shade of her dress was thoughtfully chosen, too. It continues a blue theme from earlier in the day, when she greeted the visiting dignitaries in a blue Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen coat. It’s thought that Catherine and Queen Camilla were nodding to “Prussian blue”, which is said to have been created by accident in 1704 by Berlin-based colour-maker Johann Jacob Diesbach.
Catherine was once again flying the flag for British fashion in choosing a Jenny Packham gown for the state banquet. And it’s important that she does: fashion is worth £60 billion ($121 billion) to the British economy, and she has the capacity to put it on a global stage just as effectively as Monday’s Fashion Awards – if not more so.
“[The gown] has the major wow factor which Jenny Packham is so brilliant at delivering,” Holt says. “It’s Catherine’s first time wearing Packham – once one of her regular inner circle of designers – in quite a while. The cape and sequin details are quintessential Packham, the result is spectacular and really delivers the princess effect which state banquets calls for.”
As for flattering the visiting nation, she’s already covered this in style terms – choosing a gown by the Munich-based label Talbot Runhof for the Royal Variety Performance last month. Co-founder Adrian Runhof admitted he had no intel on whether anyone else would wear his designs during the visit, although the German president’s wife has worn Talbot Runhof in the past. “In Germany, people are very discreet, especially in politics,” he says.
Staff add the finishing touches to the table for the state banquet.Credit: Getty Images
Elke Budenbender with her husband, German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, King Charles III and Queen Camilla.Credit: Getty Images
The Queen looked resplendent in a green lace evening gown by Fiona Clare, the Girls of Great Britain and Northern Ireland Tiara, diamond earrings, an emerald and diamond necklace and The Order of Germany Sash.
Camilla’s tiara was also sensitively chosen to pay homage to the late Queen Elizabeth. Also designed by Garrard, the Girls of Great Britain and Ireland Tiara was originally given to Queen Mary, as a wedding gift in 1893. Mary, in turn, gave it to her granddaughter, the then-princess Elizabeth, when she wed Prince Philip in 1947.
Loading
It became one of Elizabeth’s most frequently worn tiaras, it’s thought in part because it was light and comfortable to wear. It is particularly familiar to us because it is the tiara worn in her 25th birthday and coronation portraits, as well as on British banknotes and coins.
The Telegraph, London
Get a note directly from our foreign correspondents on what’s making headlines around the world. Sign up for our weekly What in the World newsletter.
