Kate Middleton looked breathtaking in a dramatic red cape gown at Tuesday’s state banquet at Windsor Castle.
The state banquet was held in honour of French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife, Brigitte, as part of a three-day visit to the UK.
The Princess of Wales expertly paid homage to the guests while honouring her own heritage without saying a word—she wore a gown by Sarah Burton at Givenchy, the British designer who now leads the iconic French fashion house. Talk about sartorial diplomacy! Skip down to outfit section for full details ⬇
Over 160 VIP guests gathered in Windsor Castle’s Great Hall for the banquet, from politicians and business leaders to celebrities, including Sir Mick Jagger and Sir Elton John.
Guests dined along a 50-metre mahogany table, elegantly dressed with golden candelabra, gilt centrepieces, and lush, meadow-like English floral arrangements.
Fine crystal and gold-rimmed china added to the sense of grandeur.
King Charles delivered a heartfelt speech in both French and English, underscoring the deep ties between the two nations.
For Kate, it marked her return to the state banquet circuit—her first since 2023, after stepping back from duties during her treatment and recovery.
Kate and President Macron during the toast:
Kensington Palace released this glamorous portrait of the Prince and Princess, ahead of the banquet:
Earlier in the day, William and Kate welcomed the French delegation at RAF Northolt, before joining the King and Queen in Windsor for an official carriage procession, complete with military honours. If you missed the Princess’s pink Dior outfit, click here for the details.
Ready to go through the Princess’s state banquet look in full detail? Let’s do it!
Kate’s State Banquet look:
The Princess chose a deep red flowing evening gown, which featured gathering on the bodice, a waistband and a multilayered, softly pleated skirt.
The cape-back detailing is the hero of the piece; it created a dramatic and elegant look.
As I wrote above, Kate commissioned the piece from Sarah Burton—a British designer who formerly worked as Creative Director for Alexander McQueen but now heads the French haute couture house Givenchy. It was the perfect choice for a state banquet celebrating the British-French relationship:
The Princess of Wales’s choice of Sarah Burton for Givenchy is a clear statement of fashion diplomacy: a design by a British woman for a French fashion house, it serves as a sartorial symbol of the symbiotic relationship between the two European countries.
VOGUE
The colour will have been a conscious choice too. It seems the Princess coordinated with Mrs Macron and Queen Camilla, as all three ladies leant into ‘flag dressing’, wearing the red, blue, and white shades associated with the Union Jack and the Tricolore.
Kensington Palace confirmed the gown was made from silk creponne, a fabric that’s lightweight, airy and has a beautiful drape.
As I loaded up the photo of Kate wearing the red gown, I initially wondered if it was a Jenny Packham piece, due to the cape. Capes feature heavily in Packham’s collections, and the Princess has worn a few. But something didn’t feel quite right. The dress looked familiar, but I couldn’t put my finger on why. Seconds later, I read it was by Sarah Burton, and the penny dropped:
The red caped gown reminded me of the Sarah Burton/Alexander McQueen dress Kate wore in 2011 during a visit to Los Angeles and then ten years later at the 2021 Earthshot Awards in London (pictured above).
This is the first time Kate’s worn a Sarah Burton piece during her tenure at Givenchy—but I wouldn’t have expected her to wear anything sooner, to be honest. Burton was only appointed last year, and only showed her first collection at Paris Fashion Week a few months back.
Will the Princess continue to wear Givenchy with Burton at the helm? Or is this a one-off for the French State Visit? I couldn’t tell you. We’ll have to watch and see.
I assume if you’ve read this far, you’re into royal fashion and you already know about Sarah Burton and her relationship with the Princess. But just in case this is a new area for you, I’ll explain the significance. Kate has a longstanding relationship with Burton; she created the Princess’s lace wedding dress and evening wedding reception gown. She also designed ensembles for other high profile moments, including the three dresses Kate wore in her 40th birthday portraits, the two gowns she wore to King Charles Coronation, the dress she wore to the late Queen Elizabeth’s funeral, and ensembles worn on the world stage for significant milestones like jubilees, christenings, etc.
Like Queen Elizabeth’s longstanding relationship with British fashion designer Norman Hartnell, it seems that Sarah Burton and the Princess of Wales will continue to etch their fashion story together.
VOGUE
Let’s move on and look at Kate’s red clutch. I’ve read that Sarah Burton designed this item too.
The palace highlighted that the bag was embroidered with Lily of the Valley flowers. Why this flower, you might ask? It’s seen as a good luck symbol in France:
The plant has long been considered a symbol of spring, renewal and luck since the days of the Celts. However it really gained importance in France after King Charles IX of France was given a lily of the valley plant on the 1st May in 1561. He was told it would bring him luck and being a superstitious person, he thought it would be a nice idea to give a lily of the valley plant every year on May 1st to the ladies of his court to bring more luck all round … To this day the French buy lily of the valley plants for their friends and family on May Day as a token of appreciation and to bring happiness and good luck.
TheGoodLifeFrance.com
Let’s talk tiaras now. The Princess brought back the Lovers’ Knot for the banquet. I think it’s fair to say this is her go-to tiara.
The piece features large pearls suspended from intertwined lovers’ knots. But it’s not always looked this way—created in 1913 by Garrard for Queen Mary, the original tiara featured two rows of pearls: the dangling pearls you see in the photos of Kate, and another set that sat upright on top of the diamond arches (see below).
Over time, Queen Mary removed the upright pearls, which gave the tiara a more streamlined appearance.
This is the 12th time we’ve seen the Princess wear the tiara in public—she’s worn it at diplomatic receptions and state banquets since 2015, plus the 2023 Jordan Royal Wedding
Before it graced Kate’s head, the sparkling pearl tiara had another very famous wearer, Princess Diana. Queen Elizabeth also wore it a handful of times in the 1950s.
I have a whole page on the tiara here, which is worth a look if you’d like a deep dive into its history.
Let’s move on to another priceless piece from the royal vault—the Princess’s earrings. They’re known as the ‘Greville Chandelier Earrings’.
The sparkling earrings were made by Cartier, another French brand. I can’t imagine this is a coincidence. Kate’s one for details, I think she’ll have purposely worn the earrings as a nod to the French guests and to saulte French craftsmanship.
Mrs Margaret Greville, a British society hostess and philanthropist, commissioned the Art Deco earrings from Cartier in the late 1920s. Upon her death in 1942, Mrs Greville left a treasure trove of jewels, including the chandelier earrings, to Queen Elizabeth (the future Queen Mother).
King George VI and Queen Elizabeth gave the earrings to their daughter, the then Princess Elizabeth (later Queen Elizabeth II) as a wedding gift in 1947.
Queen Elizabeth II was a fan of the earrings and wore them regularly in the 1950s and 1960s.
Their design incorporates a lexicon of modern diamond cuts, including half-moon, trapeze, square, baguette, baton and emerald.
Royal Collection Trust
Kate debuted the stunning diamond earrings in 2023 at the Jordan Wedding banquet, and then wore them again at a diplomatic reception later in the year. This is the third time we’ve seen her wear them to date.
The Triple-Strand Pearl Bracelet by Nigel Milne made a return:
The vintage bracelet dates back to 1988 and belonged to Princess Diana. The Princess debuted the heirloom piece during a visit to Berlin, Germany, in 2016. This is the 12th time we’ve seen her wear it to date, I believe.
Here’s a picture of it (right) in a promotional catalogue in the late 1980s:
The designer wrote a blog post about the bracelet on his website a few years back, but it’s no longer live. Here’s an excerpt that I quoted in one of my older articles:
[It] was designed by me and featured in our 1988/1989 jewellery catalogue. In 1988 we decided to produce some jewellery and donate the proceeds from their sales to the charity, BIRTHRIGHT. For personal reasons Cherry and I had become supporters of this charity, Sir George Pinker, Cherry’s gynaecologist, being its President and The Princess of Wales its Patron.
The three items that we chose for our Birthright Collection were a pair of diamond bow and pearl drop earrings, a diamond half eternity ring and a three row pearl bracelet with diamond and pearl spacers and clasp.
This is the bracelet that Princess Diana wore on several occasions including at the Birthright Ball in 1989 and with her iconic Catherine Walker ‘Elvis’ dress in Hong Kong and has now been seen adorning the Duchess of Cambridge!
This look was very typical of the style of jewellery that we were making at that time.
NigelMilne.co.uk
The Princess completed her look with a pair of dark red or burgundy heels—I cannot confidently tell you the exact pair. But I suspect she’s wearing the ‘Romy 100’ by Jimmy Choo in burgundy velvet—the pair she debuted in 2018 at the opening of the V&A Museum’s Photography Centre.
If I’m correct, this will be the second time she’s worn the shoes in public.
The Romy shoes are crafted with a leather sole and velvet upper; they boast a 100mm heel and an elegantly pointed toe.
If you NEED these shoes in your life (it’s ok, we’ve all been there!) you’ll be pleased to know you can place a custom order on Jimmy Choo’s website. Select ‘Romy’ from the ‘Made To Order’ page, and ‘bordeaux velvet’ is the material you’ll want.
Lower heel heights are available, and you can personalise the sole—there are a few cute options like adding initials or dates.
When I used the tool to recreate Kate’s shoes, it came out at £895. It said they’d ship in 12 weeks.
Let’s finish with a section I’ll call “Things Pinned to Kate’s Gown”—a look at the honours, insignia, Royal Family Orders, and brooches she wore.
The pale blue sash, Maltese cross, and star medallion signify that Kate is a Dame Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order (GCVO), one of the most senior honours in the British honours system.
Queen Elizabeth II personally invested Kate into the order in 2019—a recognition granted at the sovereign’s discretion for personal service to the monarch. The Royal Victorian Order was established by Queen Victoria in 1896.
Pinned onto the sash were two Royal Family Orders—special honours bestowed by the reigning monarch to female members of the royal family, typically in recognition of dedicated service and support.
The yellow ribbon is the Royal Family Order of Queen Elizabeth II, awarded to Kate in 2017. She’s worn it regularly for state occasions ever since.
The blue ribbon is the Royal Family Order of King Charles III. This banquet marked the first time Kate had worn the King’s RFO in public. Queen Camilla debuted hers at the Japan state banquet in June 2024.
The order features a miniature portrait of the King surrounded by diamonds, pinned to a soft blue ribbon.
Older Royal Family Orders were painted on ivory, but this practice has been discontinued due to ethical concerns around the ivory trade. Instead, Kate’s order for Queen Elizabeth II was crafted from hand-painted glass, while King Charles III’s version uses a sustainable synthetic material called polymin.
Finally, Did you spot the small rosette pin on Kate’s blue sash?
That’s the Ordre national du Mérite, or French National Order of Merit, a senior French state honour awarded to Kate by President Emmanuel Macron during the state visit.