The Princess of Wales pays tribute to Princess Diana with a historic brooch at the Oman state visit

The Princess of Wales wore a sentimental piece of jewellery that once belonged to Princess Diana as she joined King Charles, Prince William, and Queen Camilla to welcome the Sultan of Oman for the state visit to Windsor Castle on Tuesday.

Catherine, who donned a dark green coat dress and matching fascinator for the occasion, stepped out in an extra-special brooch – one that she often customises to match her royal engagements. Known as the Queen Alexandra Three Feathers brooch, the piece dates all the way back to 1863, when it was gifted to Princess Alexandra of Denmark on the occasion of her wedding to the Prince of Wales – who would go on to be crowned King Edward VII.

The brooch – which depicts the ostrich feathers that make up the Prince of Wales’ heraldic badge, surrounded by diamonds and emeralds – was given to Princess Diana when she tied the knot with Prince Charles while he was Prince of Wales. The jewels will have been gifted to Catherine when she was made Princess of Wales by King Charles in 2022 – a way of paying homage to the generations of women before her who have held the title, including her late mother-in-law.

The brooch comes with a drop emerald, which Catherine occasionally removes from the piece when she wears it – like when she wore it for a Commonwealth Day service in 2023. Princess Diana was known to remove and add the emerald to the brooch depending on her outfit, wearing it as either a pendant or a brooch. Queen Camilla has also been seen in the brooch as the wife of the Prince of Wales. And it seems that Catherine felt it was a fitting addition to her all-green ensemble for the Omani state visit today.

Royal watchers will be keenly looking forward to seeing the Princess of Wales don her royal finery this evening, as Catherine is expected to play a key role in the state banquet. It means tiaras will abound when the King and the Queen host the Sultan at Windsor, with Catherine traditionally attending alongside Princess Anne, the Duchess of Edinburgh, and the Duchess of Gloucester.

But what dazzling family heirloom might Catherine wear? 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 then made his way to the Royal Dais on Dachet Road in Windsor, where he was officially welcomed by King Charles and Queen Camilla as the sound of a Royal Salute was 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.