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Queen Camilla wore a tiara closely associated with Queen Elizabeth as the royals hosted the German president at a Windsor Castle state banquetIt marked her second tiara moment in just two weeksAt a reception for members of the Diplomatic Corps on Nov. 18, the Queen made her debut in the Greville Emerald Kokoshnik Tiara, the headpiece that Princess Eugenie wore for her 2018 wedding
Queen Camilla is having another sparkling tiara moment.
The Queen, 78, joined members of the British royal family for a state banquet at Windsor Castle on Dec. 3, honoring the German president and first lady during their state visit to the U.K. The event was also attended by King Charles, Prince William, Kate Middleton and other members of the royal family.
Queen Camilla wore a green lace evening gown by Fiona Clare, accessorized with an emerald and diamond necklace, diamond earrings and the Order of Germany sash.
She topped off her look with the Girls of Great Britain and Northern Ireland Tiara, a headpiece that she made her debut in back in 2023. Queen Elizabeth was closely associated with the tiara, wearing it on numerous occasions throughout her 70 years on the throne, including in depictions of her on some British and Commonwealth banknotes and coins.
Elke Buedenbender, Germany’s President Frank-Walter Steinmeier, King Charles and Queen Camilla on Dec. 3, 2025.
Aaron Chown / POOL / AFP via Getty
According to the Royal Collection Trust, the tiara was a wedding present from the “Girls of Great Britain and Ireland” to the Duchess of York, later Queen Mary, in 1893. The Court Jeweller adds that Lady Eva Greville led the campaign to raise money for the piece, which was purchased from Garrard. The fundraising effort was so successful that the extra money went to the wives and children of sailors who died in the collision of the battleship HMS Victoria.
Joining the royal representation were Princess Anne, her husband Sir Tim Laurence, Prince Edward, Edward’s wife Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh and the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester.
Princess Kate made her debut in a new headpiece: Queen Victoria’s Oriental Circlet Tiara. It marked her fifth different tiara wear, as she often wears the same headpieces.
Prince Edward, Sophie, Prince William and Kate Middleton attend the German state banquet on Dec. 3, 2025.
Aaron Chown – Pool/Getty
Model Claudia Schiffer, titled Lady Vaughn after her husband Matthew’s recent honor, was also on the guest list of 152.
The state banquet’s highlight was the royal procession, where King Charles and Queen Camilla entered with Germany’s president and first lady, respectively. Prince William was paired with Dr. Dörte Dinger (State Secretary, Head of the Office of the Federal President), while Princess Kate walked in with Sebastian Roloff (a member of the German Bundestag, Chair of the German-British Parliamentary Friendship Group, Economic Policy Spokesperson of the SPD Parliamentary Group).
The Duchess of Gloucester and Princess Anne at the German state banquet on Dec. 3, 2025.
Aaron Chown – Pool/Getty
Schiffer also took part in the procession, paired with German politician Dr. Johann Wadephul, before taking her spot at the table next to U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer.
The German president’s seat at the table was between King Charles and Princess Kate, while Queen Camilla and Prince William sat across the table from them.
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Windsor Castle decorated for the German state banquet on Dec. 3, 2025.
Aaron Chown – Pool/Getty
The dinner menu included ingredients from the royal estates, such as Windsor partridge. And the choice of one of the wines, Chateau la Fleur-Petrus, Pomerol, was from 1995 — the year that the president and his wife were married. The evening’s cocktail, crafted especially for the event with nods to their German guests, featured cherry brandy (a throwback to the first time Charles drank alcohol at school), flavored with cherry and chocolate meant to evoke Black Forest Gateau.
The table was decorated with seasonal flowers and foliage sourced from the grounds of Windsor Castle and Buckingham Palace. After the banquet, flowers that can’t be used will be donated to Floral Angels, a charity for which Queen Camilla is patron, to be taken to hospices, care homes for the elderly and shelters within the local community.
St. George’s Hall at Windsor Castle also featured a special holiday touch for the German state banquet: a Christmas tree adorned with lights and gold ornaments!
King Charles and the German president both gave speeches at the banquet, with the monarch speaking in German initially and then in English. He evoked memories of his first overseas state visit after becoming king in 2022. He said that it “seems only yesterday that we paid our state visit to Germany in 2023, the first one since my accession. On this and on our previous visits, you and your dear wife showed both my wife and myself much kindness. That makes the pleasure all the greater that we can welcome you here at Windsor as our guests, a mark of a very special friendship that binds our two nations.”
He spoke about some of his memories of that trip and of the business, cultural and business links between the two countries. And after referring to the rivalries in soccer, King Charles hit upon what they don’t necessarily share: humor. “It can have escaped no one’s attention that Germans are considered by many in my country to have a somewhat different sense of humor. But let me assure you, British humor is no laughing matter.”
The appearance marks Queen Camilla’s second tiara moment in just two weeks. On Nov. 18, she joined King Charles and Prince William at a reception for members of the Diplomatic Corps at Windsor Castle. There, she made her debut in the Greville Emerald Kokoshnik Tiara, the accessory that Princess Eugenie chose for her 2018 royal wedding to Jack Brooksbank. The tiara was made by Boucheron for Dame Margaret Helen Greville in 1919 in the fashionable “kokoshnik” style popularized in the Russian Imperial Court.
Despite not wearing a tiara on her wedding day, Queen Camilla has sported many tiaras from the royal collection through the years, especially expanding her rotation since King Charles’ accession to the throne in 2022.
Of course, her most royal headpiece was Queen Mary’s Crown, which she wore at King Charles’ 2023 coronation. Instead of having a new crown made “in the interests of sustainability and efficiency,” she wore the same one that Charles’ great-grandmother Queen Mary did when she took part in the coronation alongside her husband, King George V, in 1911.
Camilla wore Queen Mary’s Crown with the Cullinan III, IV and V diamonds that were part of Queen Elizabeth‘s personal jewelry collection. The late monarch often wore them as brooches.