King Charles III and Queen Camilla host a state banquet in honor of the President of France at Windsor Castle on July 8, 2025 (Aaron Chown/PA Images/Alamy)Tonight, King Charles III and Queen Camilla hosted a spectacular state banquet for the visiting President of France at Windsor Castle, with family tiaras sparkling mightily all along the banquet table.
King Charles III and Queen Camilla host a state banquet in honor of the President of France at Windsor Castle on July 8, 2025 (Aaron Chown/PA Images/Alamy)
King Charles III, wearing the modern Windsor uniform and the scarlet sash of the French Legion of Honour, was joined by Queen Camilla to host a state banquet in honor of President Emmanuel Macron of France and his wife, Brigitte, at Windsor. President Macron wore white tie with the insignia of the Order of the Bath, while Madame Macron was elegant in blue with diamond jewels.
King Charles III and Queen Camilla host a state banquet in honor of the President of France at Windsor Castle on July 8, 2025 (Aaron Chown/PA Images/Alamy)
Queen Camilla dressed in the colors of the British and French flags for the state banquet, wearing a white evening gown with the bright red sash of the French Legion of Honor and blue sapphires that belonged to her late mother-in-law, Queen Elizabeth II. Camilla also wore King Charles III’s Royal Family Order on her sash.
Camilla has reached for this particular jewel, the Belgian Sapphire Tiara, for gala occasions before. The jewel, which began its life as a necklace in the jewelry collection of a nineteenth-century Belgian princess, was acquired by Queen Elizabeth II in the 1960s and transformed into a tiara. Camilla wore it for the first time during the South African state banquet in 2022. The sapphire and diamond fringe earrings worn with the tiara both now and then come from her personal collection. (Camilla does not have pierced ears.)
King Charles III and Queen Camilla host a state banquet in honor of the President of France at Windsor Castle on July 8, 2025 (Aaron Chown/PA Images/Alamy)
The necklace and bracelet (on her left wrist) worn by Camilla for the banquet also come from Queen Elizabeth II’s jewelry box. They are part of the suite of sapphire and diamond jewelry given to Elizabeth by her father, King George VI, as a wedding present in 1947. She treasured the sapphires, and Camilla has worn them often in the years since her passing. She memorably wore them for the state dinner at Versailles during the state visit to France in 2023.
The Prince and Princess of Wales attend a state banquet in honor of the President of France at Windsor Castle on July 8, 2025 (Aaron Chown/PA Images/Alamy)
The Princess of Wales also had another diplomatic dressing moment at the banquet, wearing a red evening gown by designed by Sarah Burton for Givenchy. Though she now heads up the iconic French fashion house, many of us remember Burton best for her tenure at Alexander McQueen, during which she designed Kate’s wedding gown.
On the dress, the Princess pinned the sash and star of the Royal Victorian Order and the Royal Family Orders of King Charles III and Queen Elizabeth II. On her order sash, you’ll also spot another tiny rosette button, which I believe is part of the insignia of France’s National Order of Merit. The decoration must have been given to Catherine during today’s visit.
The Princess of Wales attends a state banquet in honor of the President of France at Windsor Castle on July 8, 2025 (Aaron Chown/PA Images/Alamy)
Princess Catherine accessorized with her go-to diadem, Queen Mary’s Lover’s Knot Tiara. The jewel was made in 1913 by Garrard. Queen Mary commissioned it as a copy of a similar lover’s knot tiara that had belonged to her grandmother, Princess Augusta, Duchess of Cambridge.
Queen Mary’s version was subsequently worn by both Queen Elizabeth II and Diana, Princess of Wales. Kate has been the primary wearer of the tiara for a decade now. She added another jewel associated with Diana, the three-row pearl bracelet, on her right wrist.
Royal Collection Trust
She also wore a special pair of earrings from the late Queen’s collection. These are the Greville Chandelier Earrings, which were made by Cartier in 1914. Further revisions to the earrings were made at the request of their original owner, Dame Margaret Greville, throughout the 1920s. In 1942, Mrs. Greville bequeathed the earrings to Queen Elizabeth (the Queen Mother) who gave them to her elder daughter, the future Queen Elizabeth II, as a wedding present in 1947.
Princess Catherine has also been wearing the modern girandole-style earrings for gala occasions since 2023, making her first appearance in them during the royal wedding celebrations for the Crown Prince of Jordan. They’re a unique pair because, in the words of the Royal Collection Trust, they serve as “a lexicon of modern diamond cuts.” These include a trio of pair-shaped diamond pendants, plus diamonds in baguette, baton, emerald, half-moon, trapeze, and square cuts.
The Princess Royal and Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence attend a state banquet in honor of the President of France at Windsor Castle on July 8, 2025 (Aaron Chown/PA Images/Alamy)
The Princess Royal, fresh off a trip to Belgium, wore several favorite pieces of gala jewelry for the banquet, including her diamond festoon tiara and diamond festoon necklace and coordinating earrings. The tiara was a gift from the World-Wide Shipping Group in 1973, when she launched one of their tankers, the World Unicorn, while the necklace and earrings were eighteenth-birthday gifts from her parents, Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip.
The Princess Royal attends a state banquet in honor of the President of France at Windsor Castle on July 8, 2025 (Aaron Chown/PA Images/Alamy)
On her Garter sash, Anne also pinned another special diamond jewel: a diamond ribbon brooch. The jewel was given to her as a wedding present by her elder brother, King Charles III, in 1973. On her jacket, she also wore Charles’s Royal Family Order, as well as that of their mother, Elizabeth II.
The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh attend a state banquet in honor of the President of France at Windsor Castle on July 8, 2025 (Aaron Chown/PA Images/Alamy)
The Duchesses were in full gala splendor for the banquet, too. The Duchess of Edinburgh, like her sisters-in-law, wore white for the occasion, with the sash and star of the Royal Victorian Order and the Royal Family Orders of Charles III and Elizabeth II.
The Duchess of Edinburgh attends a state banquet in honor of the President of France at Windsor Castle on July 8, 2025 (Aaron Chown/PA Images/Alamy)
With the dress, she wore a modern diamond and aquamarine tiara from her personal collection. The jewel, which features a sea-green aquamarine surrounded by jagged diamond wave designs, can also be removed from its frame and worn as a necklace. Her other jewels were also modern diamond pieces: earrings, necklace, and bracelet.
The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester attend a state banquet in honor of the President of France at Windsor Castle on July 8, 2025 (Aaron Chown/PA Images/Alamy)
And finally, a look at the Duchess of Gloucester’s elegant ensemble for the state banquet. She also wore a white gown, the Garter sash and star, and the Royal Family Orders of Charles III and Elizabeth II.
The Duchess of Gloucester attends a state banquet in honor of the President of France at Windsor Castle on July 8, 2025 (Aaron Chown/PA Images/Alamy)
Her jewels, as always, were show-stoppers. She wore the tiara, necklace, earrings, brooch, and bracelets from the Teck Turquoise Parure, presented to Queen Mary by her parents as a wedding gift in 1893. Intriguingly, Birgitte also layered a second necklace with the Teck diamond and turquoise jewel, an antique fringe of diamonds tipped with pearls.