It was supposed to be a textbook state occasion: red carpets rolled out at Windsor Castle, crystal glasses lined in perfect rows, King Charles hosting Germany’s President Frank-Walter Steinmeier at a glittering state banquet. But the moment Catherine, Princess of Wales, stepped into St George’s Hall in an icy-blue Jenny Packham gown and a towering ruby-and-diamond tiara, the mood subtly shifted.
On her head was Queen Victoria’s Oriental (or Indian) Circlet Tiara, a piece that hadn’t been seen in public for 20 years, last worn by Queen Elizabeth II in 2005 and long associated with queens, not princesses.
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