Why the Princess of Wales will wear a tiara tonight: Catherine poised to take a starring role at the state banquet

Fans of the Princess of Wales, rejoice! Catherine is set to have a starring role at this evening’s state banquet. When King Charles and Queen Camilla host the Sultan of Oman at Windsor Castle tonight, the future queen will don her finery, pulling out all the pomp and ceremony the royal family can offer in a diplomatic extravaganza. That includes, to the delight of royal watchers everywhere, a tiara moment for Her Royal Highness.

Both the King and the Sultan will be delivering speeches at the banquet. Buckingham Palace has revealed that other members of the royal family will also be attending the banquet, and in recent years, the Princess of Wales has donned a tiara to join the likes of Prince William, Princess Anne, the Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh, and the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester.

Which tiara might the Princess wear for the glittering occasion? In all likelihood, Catherine will opt for her favourite piece, the Lovers’ Knot. It’s an heirloom piece with great sentimental value for both the Prince and Princess of Wales, considering how Princess Diana also treasured the tiara, which was created in 1914 by the House of Garrard for Queen Mary, who was inspired by a similar headpiece owned by her grandmother, Princess Augusta of Hesse.

After Queen Mary’s death in 1953, she bequeathed the Lovers’ Knot to her granddaughter, Queen Elizabeth II. After wearing the tiara throughout the 50s, the late Queen is said to have loaned it to Princess Diana as a wedding present in 1981. In a somewhat iconoclastic move, the late Princess of Wales instead chose to wear the Spencer Tiara, which had been in her family for decades. Diana did, however, soon become closely associated with the Lovers’ Knot, in spite of the fact that it was so heavy to wear that it is said to have given her headaches.

During her own royal career, Catherine has worn the Lover’s Knot tiara at six such diplomatic dinners, as well as for a 2017 state banquet in honour of King Felipe and Queen Letizia, a 2019 dinner for King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima and a 2025 dinner for President Macron. When the royals gathered to welcome US President Donald Trump to Buckingham Palace in 2019, Kate was wearing her favourite tiara, and she also chose it for her first state banquet as the Princess of Wales when the Firm hosted South African President Cyril Ramaphosa in 2022 and later for the Nigerian state banquet in 2026.

But there are a host of other options for the Princess of Wales. She could choose to repeat her outlier choice from the German state banquet in December 2025 and wear the Queen Victoria Oriental Circlet tiara, or perhaps the Strathmore Rose tiara from the dinner in honour of the South Korean president in 2023. For her first-ever state banquet, she wore the Lotus Flower tiara – could she choose to bring it back, over 11 years later?

This evening’s banquet will be the culmination of the Omani state visit, which began when the Sultan arrived at Stansted Airport on 19 October. On the morning of 20 October, he was officially welcomed by Prince William at one of the Sultanate of Oman’s London residences, which include Nuffield Lodge, 35 Upper Brook Street, and the embassy at 167 Queen’s Gate.

The Sultan will then make his way to the Royal Dais on Dachetr Road in Windsor, where he will be officially welcomed by King Charles and Queen Camilla as the sound of a Royal Salute is fired from the Home Park and the Tower of London. The trio will then join the Prince and Princess of Wales for a carriage procession to Windsor Castle – as has become tradition in recent state visits.

Upon arrival in the Quadrangle of the Castle, the royals will be given a Royal Salute by a Guard of Honour while the regimental band plays the Omani and British National Anthems. The Sultan and King Charles will then inspect the Guard before all five royals view a military parade. This will be followed by a lunch in the State Dining Room, with other members of the royal family, and a special exhibition of Oman-related items in the Green Drawing Room.

The following morning, the King and the Queen will bid farewell to the Sultan, who will then make his way to London to meet with Prime Minister Andy Burnham at Number 10 Downing Street. But there is more royal pomp and ceremony to come, as His Majesty is then invited to join the Duke of Gloucester for a Guildhall banquet hosted by the Lady Mayor.

On Thursday, the Sultan will conclude his British trip with a visit to Here East at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, where he will learn more about place-based transformation and the regeneration projects following the London 2012 Olympics. After a showcase of energy and renewables, he will depart for Oman from Stansted Airport.