Tonight the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge attended the white-tie Diplomatic Reception at Buckingham Palace.
photo via The Daily Mail
The Diplomatic Recpetion is one of the most lavish events hosted by The Queen throughout the year and is always hosted in the Buckingham Palace ballroom. I got the opportunity to visit the ballroom in September and can honestly say it is an amazing room. I can only imagine how breathtaking it must be when filled with guests in white-tie!
The only downside to the Diplomatic Reception is that no photos are released from inside, so we only have the arrival photographs to look at! However, even from those we can see that the Duchess looked lovely tonight. I especially like the up-do she now has when wearing a tiara.
photo via The Daily Mail
It is the second time the Duke and Duchess have attended the reception, the last time was in 2013. For tonight's event, the Duchess chose a similar outfit.
She re-wore the bespoke Alexander McQueen dress. We got a better view of the bodice tonight but I do hope that one day we will get a full-length view of the dress - I have a feeling it is going to be beautiful!
photo via The Daily Mail
The Duchess chose a new tiara for tonight's occasion. It is the third tiara we have seen the Duchess in. The first was the Cartier Halo Tiara she wore in 2011 on her wedding day. The second was the Papyrus Tiara she wore for the Diplomatic Reception in 2013. The third was a repeat of the Papyrus Tiara earlier this year. It is lovely to see that the Duchess is starting to attend more events that require a tiara, as it is a real treat for us when she does!
This time she chose the Cambridge Lover's Knot Tiara.
The tiara is most famous for being worn by Princess Diana. It is not a surprise that the Duchess has chosen this tiara, as it was thought that she would wear it eventually, given it's name and the couple being titled Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, and because of how often Princess Diana wear the tiara.
photo via The Daily Mail
One of my favourite outfit's of Princess Diana that included the Cambridge Lover's Knot Tiara was when she wore a matching pearl embellished dress..
photo via The Daily Mail
The Queen also wore the tiara on a few occasions, most notably in an oil painting by Leonard Boden, which was presented to the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst in 1957. She also wore the matching pearl drop earrings.
However, the original tiara belonged to Princess Augusta of Hesse-Cassel. It was a gift from her parents, Prince Frederick of Hesse and Princess Caroline of Nassau, when she married the Duke of Cambridge - hence the tiara's name.
When their eldest daughter married, the Duchess of Cambridge, Princess Augusta, gave the tiara to her as a gift.
The Cambridge Lovers Knot Tiara that we see today is actually a replica of this original, as the original was lost many years ago and thought to have been sold at auction.
In 1913, Queen Mary commissioned the Crown Jewelers, Garrard & Co., to construct a tiara based on the design of the Cambridge Lovers Knot Tiara. It was Queen Mary who passed it down to Queen Elizabeth II who then loaned it to Princess Diana and now to the Duchess of Cambridge. I do love how the British Royal Family pass on jewels - it is a lovely tradition that not all royal families have.
The Duchess also borrowed Queen Elizabeth's earrings. She quite often borrows these evenings for such occasions and has worn them on a number of black-tie and white-tie receptions since their wedding.
Copy Kate
If you ever have the opportunity to wear a gown and want to emulate the Duchess's look from tonight then why not opt for the
Gina Bacconi Long Chiffon Dress with Lace Bodice in Silver. It is currently on sale for £210. It is a beautiful dress but with a much more modest price tag!
