Last week, Kate Middleton dazzled at the state banquet at Windsor Castle with the largest tiara ever worn: a tiara that is now only used by British queens. The spectacle was staged in honor of German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and his wife Elke Budenbender after their arrival in the UK. They were received in the first hour of the morning by Guillermo from England and Kate Middleton, who even departed from Heathrow Airport to attend the Bienvenida party. After that, the couple moved to Windsor Castle, where a carriage procession was organized in the presence of Kings Carlos III and Camilla.
At the banquet organized at the end of the day – the second for a German president with a European monarchy after his visit to Spain last week – the Princess of Wales returned to wearing a tiara, the third time in 2025. But on this occasion it was even bigger. He also honored Queen Victoria with an Indian ruby crown and her splendor, along with a bright blue dress designed by Jenny Packham and a number of pendants that belonged to the famous Queen Elizabeth, in addition to the Royal Family Medal and a star from the Orden Royal Victoriana. For her part, one of the crowns most closely associated with Queen Elizabeth was Queen Camilla, the Girls of Grand Britannia and Northern Ireland.
According to respected London jeweler Garrard, the tiara chosen by the Princess of Wales was designed in 1853 for Queen Victoria, commissioned by her husband, Prince Albert. It contains 2,600 diamonds, and although it was originally decorated with opals, Queen Alexandra replaced the gemstones with rubies, because she believed that opals indicated bad luck. However, the Indian-inspired design with lotus flowers and Mughal arches remains practically the same as when the 19th century legend was created. It was also used by the Queen Mother and only once by Queen Elizabeth during a trip to Malta in 2005. Since then, the joy has not been seen in public. It is one of the most important pieces from the Victorian era in the British Royal Collection: the East Circle is also one of the oldest pieces created by Garrard for the Royal Family.
Since becoming part of the royal family, Kate Middleton has worn four different tiaras for events such as state banquets, diplomatic receptions, and royal weddings. Events I attended more and more frequently. In September, during US President Donald Trump’s state visit, he wore a lovers’ knot, or in Spanish, a naked lovers’ crown, in honor of his mother-in-law, Diana Wells. Comprising 19 diamond bows adorned with 39 pearls, it is one of the most impressive pieces by the British Royal Jeweller. The Joy was designed by the house of Garrad in 1913 after Maria de Teck took over. According to the specialized website The Court Jeweller, this piece is a copy of a piece that the Queen has admired for a long time: the Cambridge Lover’s Knot, which was created in 1818. It was a wedding gift for the seventh son of King George III, who married the German Princess Augusta of Hesse-Kassel.
One of the night’s surprises is that among the 152 guests is 1990s German supermodel Claudia Schiffer, now Lady Vaughn, who was behind the recent tribute to her husband, film director Sir Matthew Vaughn. Scheffer sat very close to the king and next to British Prime Minister Keir Starmer.