Kate Middleton makes a dramatic entrance in a yellow dress for a rare tiara moment at the state banquet

NEED TO KNOW

• Kate Middleton wore her favorite tiara as she helped the British royal family welcome the Sultan of Oman for a state banquet at Windsor Castle.

• The Princess of Wales only wears tiaras a few times a year

• Find out how many tiaras Princess Kate has worn throughout her royal life

Kate Middleton sports a large tiara as part of the state visit to Oman.

The Princess of Wales joined Prince William in helping King Charles and Queen Camilla welcome Sultan Haitham bin Tarik of Oman for his state visit to the UK at a state banquet at Windsor Castle on Tuesday 20 October.

Princess Kate wore a yellow Elie Saab dress topped with her must-have royal headpiece: Queen Mary’s sweetheart-knot tiara. The accessory, which was also worn by Princess Diana, has become Kate’s most frequent choice, wearing it several times since she launched it in 2015.

Her accessories also included the Royal Family Order of King Charles (a badge depicting the monarch’s portrait) and the sash and star of the Royal Victorian Order. The Princess of Wales also wore earrings and a bracelet that belonged to the late Queen Elizabeth.

The Princess of Wales typically wears tiaras several times a year for occasions such as state banquets, diplomatic receptions and, occasionally, royal weddings.

Her very first tiara was on her wedding day to Prince William in April 2011, and since then, she has worn a total of five different royal headpieces.

Queen Camilla also wore a tiara for the State of Oman banquet, opting for the Daughters of Great Britain and Ireland tiara. The royal headpiece was a favorite of Queen Elizabeth, and she wore it many times during her 70 years on the throne, including depictions on some British and Commonwealth notes and coins. Camilla wore it for the first time in 2023.

State visits, coordinated between the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Royal Household to strengthen ties between the countries, often include a state banquet on the first evening of the trip.

Oman’s state banquet takes place at St. George’s Hall inside Windsor Castle, as do many recent state visits to the United Kingdom. Although Buckingham Palace in London is the traditional setting for such visits, it is currently undergoing renovation.

St. George’s Hall will accommodate 160 banquet guests, with a 50 meter long table running the length of the hall. The table was set with 480 knives, 480 forks and 160 spoons.

In the center of the table, between King Charles and the Sultan, was a candlestick in the shape of a dragon commissioned in 1833 by King William IV. The base of the piece was surrounded by pomegranates picked from a tree planted by the late Prince Philip on the east terrace of the castle around 50 years ago. “This year it bore fruit because of the hot summer,” said a royal aide.

Alcohol is served at the state banquet, but the Sultan did not drink any for the toast. No cocktails were offered for the evening either, but following Omani tradition, an Omani drink Kahwa – an Arabic coffee lightly spiced with cardamom and rose water – was created in the royal household kitchens and served early in the evening. True to the British love of tea, at the end of the meal, three teas were served: two iced teas – an Earl Gray and a rosewater mint – and a hot tea spiced with cardamom.

There was a new addition to the banquet table: the salt dishes were decorated with a faint imprint of the king’s royal cipher.

The Sultan sat between King Charles and Princess Kate, while Sayyid Shihab bin Tariq bin Taimur Al Said, Deputy Prime Minister for Defense Affairs, sat to the king’s left.

Across from them, Prince William sat between Sayyid Theyazin bin Haitham Al Said, the Crown Prince, and Dina Macki, an Omani chef and food blogger. Queen Camilla was seated with the Crown Prince of Oman on her right and Sayyid Loay bin Ghalib Al Said, a member of the Omani royal family who serves as Secretary General to the Diwan of the Royal Court, on her left.

Princess Kate has returned to a fuller workload of royal duties since completing her cancer treatment in September 2024, and she announced that she was in remission in January 2025. In 2025, she attended three state banquets in one year, attended by Bethan Holt, fashion director at The Telegraph, previously told PEOPLE was quite an undertaking.

“It’s a huge pressure on Kate to always deliver that fashion moment at these big state events, but it’s all part of the package,” Holt said.

Can’t get enough of PEOPLE’s Royals coverage? Sign up for our free Royals newsletter to receive the latest updates on Kate Middleton, Meghan Markle and more!

Looking ahead, Holt said the Princess of Wales knows her style needs to constantly evolve, but the royal is taking a slow and steady approach.

“It’s a subtle evolution, and she still checks all those boxes that are so integral to who she is as a royal and future queen,” Holt explained. “Kate knows that the interest in her will be there for years and that she needs to keep moving things forward and doing something different, but it’s no surprise that it feels unsettling; it’s a very fine line.”

Read the original article on People