Princess Kate wore the late Princess Diana's favorite Lover's Knot tiara when the British royals opened Buckingham Palace for a state banquet for Spain's head of state Wednesday, causing a stir on social media.
More than 1,000 people from 130 countries attended the state banquet, where the royals joined Spain's King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia, as part of their three-day visit to Britain, Vanity Fair reported. A Spanish king had not visited the United Kingdom in 31 years.
Much media attention focused on the tiara Princess Kate wore at the event, since it was associated with Prince William's late mother, per Vanity Fair.
"Sometimes referred to as the Cambridge Lover's Knot, (the Queen Mary's Lover's Knot) is one of the best-known tiaras in the British royal family's collection, mostly thanks to it being a favorite of the late Princess Diana," noted People magazine writer Maria Mercedes Lara.
"A little more than century old, the tiara recently sparkled in the spotlight once again when Princess Kate wore the diamond-and-pearl creation once again for a state banquet at Buckingham Palace. …"
The tiara was first commissioned from famous court jewelers Garrard by Queen Mary sometime in 1913 or 1914, People magazine noted. It is a replica of a 200-year-old Gothic Revival tiara owned by Mary's grandmother, Princess Augusta of Hesse, the Duchess of Cambridge.
That is how the tiara received the alternative name as the Cambridge Lover's Knot, wrote People. The original Cambridge Lover's Knot Tiara was later sold at auction at Christie's in Geneva in May 1981 for more than $747,000 in today's dollars to an anonymous buyer.
E! News writer Corinne Heller was complimentary of Princess Kate's entire look during the state banquet.
"The duchess looked gorgeous and regal in a pale pink, lace Marchesa gown with ruffled, elbow-length sleeves and a plunging neckline, marking one of her most revealing public looks," Heller wrote for E! News. "She wore her hair up and adorned it with the Cambridge Lover's Knot Tiara, which she has worn before and which was one of Diana's favorites."
Kate's wearing the tiara created Twitter fights over the name of the tiara, among other things.
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