Princess of Wales wears Elie Saab gown and Lover’s Knot tiara

On October 20, 2026, at Windsor Castle, Catherine, Princess of Wales, attended a state banquet hosted by King Charles III and Queen Camilla in honor of Sultan Haitham bin Tariq of Oman, wearing an Elie Saab yellow dress and the Queen Mary’s Lover’s Knot Tiara, alarabiya.net reported.

The Princess of Wales selected a floor-length yellow gown from Elie Saab’s ready-to-wear spring-summer 2025 collection. The design featured a high waist, soft pleats, a braided neckline detail, and a sheer cape-like scarf extending from the shoulders. To complete the look, she wore the Lover’s Knot Tiara, a diamond and pearl piece created by Garrard in 1913 for Queen Mary and famously worn by Princess Diana, bisara7a reported. The piece is sometimes referred to as the Cambridge Lover’s Knot Tiara or Cambridge knot, featuring 38 large pearls—19 on top of the tiara and 19 pear-shaped ones hanging from the tiara’s arch, according to hiamag.com. It was originally crafted in 1914 by jeweler Garrard for Queen Mary, grandmother of the late British queen, with the design believed to be based on a piece belonging to her grandmother, Princess Augusta, before being inherited by Queen Elizabeth II and later gifted to Princess Diana on her 1981 wedding day, and is now the favorite tiara of Kate Middleton, hiamag.com noted. Alongside the tiara, she wore the Royal Family Order of King Charles III, the Royal Victorian Order sash and star, alarabiya.net noted. She selected a gold evening clutch by Anya Hindmarch and Jimmy Choo stiletto shoes, while completing her ensemble with royal badges and medals matching the formal dinner, bisara7a reported, noting that this coordination reveals a thoughtful distribution of roles among outfit elements where the dress provides color and movement, jewelry adds classical brilliance, and the tiara grants a clear historical presence. Commentator Amanda Mata stated that the repeated wearing of the tiara reflects the stability of the princess’s royal style, according to bisara7a.

Royal Attire Reflects Colors of the Omani Flag

British media coverage extended beyond official proceedings to examine the attire of Queen Camilla and Princess Catherine. As reported by alsahwa.om, citing the Irish News and the UK Press Association, Queen Camilla wore a deep red coat and dress, while Princess Catherine wore a dark green coat. Several British reports linked the red and green hues to the colors of the Omani flag as a welcoming gesture, illustrating the concept of fashion diplomacy. Atheer.om reported that Princess Catherine greeted Sultan Haitham bin Tariq with a traditional curtsey and a direct handshake at Windsor Castle, combining formal court protocol with contemporary communication. Daily life historians note that the emergence of handshakes did not originate from royal palaces to be imposed on the general public, but instead stemmed from the heart of urban, middle-class, and merchant centers in places like Britain during the eighteenth century, as traders reinforced deals with direct palm meetings while courts clung to static curtseys, atheer.om added. In modern curtseys, weight is shifted to one foot, usually the left, while the toe of the other foot is placed slightly behind and outside the stationary foot, maintaining eye contact while bending the front knee with an upright torso and hands at the sides, according to atheer.om. This moment highlights how modern royal protocols maintain ancient grandeur while accommodating contemporary flexibility and direct communication in high-level international meetings, atheer.om concluded.

Princess Catherine Integrates Pieces from the Royal Vault

The state banquet attire built upon a documented history of royal wardrobe choices carrying specific historical and diplomatic weight. As detailed by hiamag.com, Princess Catherine has frequently integrated pieces from the royal vault that carry ties to previous generations, including the emerald and diamond choker from Princess Diana’s collection which was worn at the Earthshot Prize ceremony in Boston, and the Nizam of Hyderabad diamond necklace gifted to Queen Elizabeth II by the King of Hyderabad. The Nizam of Hyderabad necklace, featuring 38 brilliant-cut diamonds and 13 emerald-cut diamonds created by Cartier, remained in the late Queen Elizabeth II’s jewelry box until Kate Middleton chose it for a royal appearance at the National Portrait Gallery in 2014, hiamag.com stated. The continued use of these pieces during high-profile diplomatic receptions mirrors the dual function of modern royal presentation, balancing contemporary design houses such as Elie Saab with centuries-old dynastic artifacts.

More on this story: Princess Catherine wears possible gift from King Charles at banquet