Princess Anne wears daughter Zara Tindall's wedding tiara for the Oman state banquet

Princess Anne looked resplendent in one of her favourite tiaras as she arrived for the Oman state banquet at Windsor Castle on Tuesday night.

Arriving alongside her husband, Sir Timothy Laurence, the Princess Royal was at her elegant best in a gold ensemble adorned with royal insignia. The finishing touch? The Princess Andrew Meander Tiara, also known as the Greek Key Tiara, which is a favourite piece in Anne's royal jewellery box.

The tiara holds extra sentimental value as it is one that she inherited via her father, the late Duke of Edinburgh. The full diamond bandeau, which features a Greek key pattern and honeysuckle motifs, belonged to her paternal grandmother, Princess Alice of Battenberg, who was given it as a wedding present upon her marriage to Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark. Supremely elegant, there is a large brilliant-cut diamond encircled within a pavé laurel wreath at the centre of the piece.

When her son married the then Princess Elizabeth in 1947, Princess Alice gave the Meander Tiara to her daughter-in-law as a gift. Whilst Queen Elizabeth has not been seen wearing the tiara herself, the precious legacy was bequeathed to their only daughter, Princess Anne in the late 1960s. Anne has worn the tiara many times since, including to the State Opening of Parliament in 1970 and the 1988 Guildhall Banquet.

As a touching tribute to her grandfather, Zara Phillips paired her mother’s Meander Tiara with a Stewart Parvin dress for her 2011 wedding to English Rugby player Mike Tindall. The tiara is now synonymous with one of the greatest royal weddings in recent years.

The tiara remains a favourite of the Princess Royal, who also sported it for the Nigerian state banquet in March.

As is to be expected at a state banquet, there were a number of glittering tiaras on display. The Princess of Wales returned to her favourite tiara, the Lover's Knot, which she wore with her yellow Elie Saab gown.

This heirloom piece has immense sentimental value for both the Prince and Princess of Wales. 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.

This state banquet marks a return to the Lover’s Knot for Catherine. Though she donned it for the Nigerian state visit earlier this year, she shocked the world in December 2025, when she attended the German state banquet wearing the Queen Victoria Oriental Circlet tiara.