Queen, Charles, Camilla, William & Catherine at Diplomatic Corps reception

This evening saw the annual Diplomatic Corps reception at Buckingham Palace, hosted by The Queen. Prince Charles and Camilla joined Her Majesty, plus Prince William and Kate, Duchess of Cambridge.

The white tie event sees the women don glittering tiaras and gowns, while the men wear tails with a white bow tie. In the state rooms at Buckingham Palace – mainly the ballroom – they mingle with diplomats, ambassadors and ambassadorial staff; it is one of the few ‘tiara occasions’ in the British royal calendar.

Prince William and Kate, Duke and Duchess of Cambridge leave Kensington Palace to attend The Queen’s Diplomatic Reception at Buckingham Palace. Picture by Andrew Parsons / i-Images

The Duchess of Cambridge wore the Cambridge pearl tiara as she did in 2016 and in 2015, which had once been loaned to Diana, Princess of Wales, by The Queen. The pearl tiara was created by Garrard in 1913 for Queen Mary, who wanted to emulate a piece that had been in her family.

Kate also wore Collingwood pearl drop earrings, also previously seen on her late mother-in-law, and a pale dress with embellishment.

A new piece was debuted by the pregnant Duchess this evening: a graduated diamond necklace. There a numerous necklaces of this kind in Her Majesty’s collection, so it was difficult to identify it with only a handful of images. The diamonds are sizeable, however.

The Duchess of Cornwall opted for the Boucheron honeycomb tiara. The unusual piece came to be in royal possession after Mrs Greville left her jewels to The Queen Mother when she died in 1942. It was made back in 1921.

Embed from Getty Images

Embed from Getty Images

Camilla also wore one of her pearl chokers, with a large diamond centrepiece, with a white embellished dress and a black cape. The Duchess also wore her Royal Family order (Elizabeth II), and the blue and red sash to denote her award as Dame Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order; this is a personal gift from The Queen to mark personal service.

The Prince of Wales and Duke of Cambridge sported their Order of the Garter sashes (blue), and breeches complete with garter. They also wore their decorations and awards, including the badge of the Garter, that of the Order of the Thistle and military medals.

No photos have been taken of The Queen, who was of course inside already. Prince Philip was not in attendance.

The 2016 diplomatic corps recetption at nuckingham palace; this is how the men dress, with breeches and a garter. Picture by i-Images / Pool

The Cambridges appeared to grimace as one of their police motorcycle outriders came off their bike, at some speed reports say.

Share this

2 comments

Bernhard Franz Wed 06 December, 2017 - 4:55 am

i had been cracking the party

Reply
Kay vinton Wed 06 December, 2017 - 8:44 am

I am delighted to be invited to enjoy these photos and information re the British royal Family.I have had a keen interest in the british royal Family and also other European royal families ,so closely related to ours.,since I was very young,growing up in England. My keen interest in history and my parent’s enthusiasm to expose my sister and I to every aspect of the history of England ,including countle4ss visits to castles ,country houses,london and other historical venues in England and Wales. It built up a great pride and affection for our English history.,which I have pursued through out my life ,bringing our children back and Encouraging them to visit and develop an interest in England and her history, after we emigrated to Australia in 1965.I was delighted to meet her Majesty the Queen here in Geraldton West Australia when HRH the queen and Prince Philip visited Geraldton in 1989 and also to meet HRH Princess anne ,when she came to Perth for the Australia cup Yacht Race and I was fortunate to be invited to meet her as a resentative of Save the children in Geraldton Wa .

Reply

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.