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Kate Middleton wore her go-to tiara as she helped the British royals host the Sultan of Oman for a Windsor Castle state banquet
The Princess of Wales only wears tiaras a handful of times each year
Find out how many tiaras Princess Kate has worn throughout her royal life
Kate Middleton is sporting a grand tiara as part of the Oman state visit.
The Princess of Wales joined Prince William in helping King Charles and Queen Camilla host Sultan Haitham bin Tarik of Oman for his state visit to the U.K. at a state banquet at Windsor Castle on Tuesday, Oct. 20.
Princess Kate wore a yellow gown by Elie Saab topped with her go-to royal headpiece: Queen Mary’s Lover’s Knot Tiara. The accessory, which was also worn by Princess Diana, has become Kate’s most frequent choice, sporting it on a number of occasions since she debuted it in 2015.
Her accessories also included King Charles’ Royal Family Order (a badge featuring the monarch’s portrait) and the Royal Victorian Order sash and star. The Princess of Wales also wore earrings and a bracelet that belonged to the late Queen Elizabeth.
Prince William and Kate Middleton attend Oman state banquet on Oct. 20, 2026
Credit: Aaron Chown / POOL / AFP via Getty
The Princess of Wales usually wears tiaras a few times each year for occasions such as state banquets, diplomatic receptions and occasionally, royal weddings.
Her first-ever tiara moment was on her wedding day to Prince William in April 2011, and she’s since worn a total of five different royal headpieces.
Queen Camilla also sported a tiara for the Oman state banquet, opting for the Girls of Great Britain and Ireland tiara. The royal headpiece was one of Queen Elizabeth’s favorites, and she wore the accessory numerous times throughout her 70 years on the throne, including in depictions on some British and Commonwealth banknotes and coins. Camilla first wore it in 2023.
Sultan Haitham bin Tarik al Said, King Charles and Queen Camilla at the Oman state banquet on Oct. 20, 2026
Credit: Aaron Chown / POOL / AFP via Getty
State visits, coordinated between the Foreign and Commonwealth Office of the government and the Royal Household to strengthen ties between countries, often include a state banquet on the first night of the trip.
The Oman state banquet is being held at St. George’s Hall inside Windsor Castle, as have many of the recent state visits to the U.K. Although Buckingham Palace in London is the traditional setting for such visits, it is currently undergoing renovations.
St. George’s Hall will hold 160 guests at the banquet, with a 50-meter-long table running the length of the room. The table was laid out with 480 knives, 480 forks and 160 spoons.
In the center of the table, between King Charles and the Sultan, was a dragon candelabra that was commissioned in 1833 by King William IV. The base of the piece was surrounded with pomegranates picked from a tree planted by the late Prince Philip on the castle’s East Terrace about 50 years ago. “It fruited heavily this year because of the warm summer,” a royal aide explained.
Alcohol is being served at the state banquet, but the Sultan did not drink it for the toast. There also wasn’t a cocktail offered for the evening, but following Omani tradition, an Omani Kahwa drink — an Arabic coffee lightly spiced with cardamom and rose water — was created in the kitchens of the royal household and was served at the start of the evening. Keeping with a British love for tea, at the end of the meal, three teas were served: two iced teas — an Earl Grey and a mint in rose water — and one warm cardamom-spiced tea.
There was a new addition to the banquet table: the salt dishes were decorated with a light imprint of the King’s royal cypher.
Salt decorated with King Charles’ cypher at the Oman state banquet on Oct. 20, 2026
Credit: Aaron Chown – WPA Pool/Getty
The Sultan sat between King Charles and Princess Kate, while Sayyid Shihab bin Tariq bin Taimur Al Said, the Deputy Prime Minister for Defense Affairs, was seated on the King’s left.
Opposite them, Prince William sat between Sayyid Theyazin bin Haitham Al Said, the Crown Prince, and Dina Macki, an Omani chef and cookery blogger. Queen Camilla was seated with Oman’s crown prince on her right and Sayyid Loay bin Ghalib Al Said, a member of the Omani Royal Family who serves as the Secretary-General of the Diwan of the Royal Court, on her left.
The state banquet table at Windsor Castle on Oct. 20, 2026
Credit: Aaron Chown – WPA Pool/Getty
Princess Kate has returned to a fuller workload of royal duties since her cancer treatment ended in September 2024, and she announced she was in remission in January 2025. In 2025, she attended three state banquets in one year, which Bethan Holt, fashion director at The Telegraph, previously told PEOPLE was quite an undertaking.
“It is a huge amount of pressure for Kate to always deliver this fashion moment at these big state events, but it’s all part of the package,” said Holt.
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Looking ahead, Holt said that the Princess of Wales knows her style needs to constantly evolve, but the royal takes a slow and steady approach.
“It’s a subtle evolution, and she’s definitely still ticking all those boxes that are so integral to who she is as a royal and future queen,” explained Holt. “Kate knows that the interest in her is going to be there for years to come and that she needs to keep gently moving things on and doing something different, but nothing too surprising that it feels unsettling; it’s a very fine line.”
Read the original article on People