The Princess of Wales shone as she attended her first state event in her new title on Tuesday evening.
She joined King Charles III, the Prince of Wales, and more than 160 guests for a glittering white tie banquet at Buckingham Palace in honour of visiting South African president Cyril Ramaphosa.
Both Kate and Camilla, the Queen Consort, paid tribute to the late Queen Elizabeth II as they attended the event in her jewels.
It marked King Charles’s first state banquet, and the first official state visit hosted by the UK since he became monarch.
Camilla wore Elizabeth II’s diamond and sapphire tiara, while Kate opted for a pearl bracelet belonging to the late Queen, as well as Diana, Princess of Wales’s earrings and a sparkling tiara her late mother-in-law once wore.
Kate became the Princess of Wales when the King made his eldest son William the Prince of Wales the day after the late Queen’s death in September. She is the first person to use the title since the late Diana.
Attending Tuesday’s banquet she wore a caped, white Jenny Packham floor length evening dress with sparkling detail on the shoulders, and her go-to tiara, the Lover’s Knot.
She also wore the family order, and the GCVO Star and Sash, as well as a four-strand pearl bracelet belonging to the late Queen, and Diana’s diamond and pearl drop earrings.
The Lover’s Knot Tiara, a diamond and pearl-encrusted headpiece made in 1914, was often worn by her namesake Diana, Princess of Wales. It was given to Diana by the Queen as a wedding gift in 1981.
Camilla, the Queen Consort, opted for the sapphire collection sometimes known as the King George VI Victorian Sapphire Suite, which was of great sentimental importance to the late Queen.
The necklace was a gift from her beloved father, George VI, for her wedding to the Duke of Edinburgh in 1947.
She later acquired a diamond and sapphire necklace, formerly the property of a Belgian princess, which she had set on a tiara frame in the early 1960s, and went on to commission a matching bracelet.
The Queen was pictured in the suite during a state visit by President Xi Jinping of China in 2015.
Camilla was dressed in royal blue lace evening dress by Bruce Oldfield, the Garter sash, Queen Victoria’s garter order and the late Queen’s family order.
On Tuesday morning the Princess of Wales and heir to the throne William met the South African president Cyril Ramaphosa on behalf of the King and escorted him to Horse Guards Parade for the pomp and ceremony of the official welcome.
There Kate wore the Prince of Wales Feathers Pendant - a piece of diamond jewellery often showcased by Princess Diana - as a brooch, marking the first time she has worn the piece.
It features 18 round cut diamonds with small emeralds around the three Prince of Wales ostrich feathers, a crown and the motto “Ich Dien” - I serve.
