Here are more photos of the Duchess of Cambridge at last night’s state banquet for the Trump family. All of the significant women wore white: Kate, Melania, Camilla, the Queen and Rose Hanbury (lol). Kate’s ruffled McQueen was… better than I expected, honestly. I mean, it is what it is and her style is her style, and within Kate’s style parameters, it looked good. What I guess I didn’t realize is that her look was also significant because this was the first time she got to wear her sash after the Queen made her a Dame Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order. That happened recently – just weeks after the Rose Hanbury story blew up, and as I said at the time, it felt like a gift from the Queen – “thanks for sticking with my cheater grandson, here’s a sash.” It came eight years after Kate and William’s marriage, which seems like a long time.
It was at the state banquet last night that the Duchess of Cambridge debuted her sash as representative of her new royal order. Since April, when Kate Middleton celebrated her eighth wedding anniversary to Prince William, she has been a Dame Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian (GCVO) Order – and Donald, Melania and all the president’s men were the first to witness her elevation in status.
Note the blue, red and white sash and the badge featuring the Maltese cross – the regalia that comes with the Royal Victorian Order (RVO). The honour, that was founded by Queen Victoria, is for personal services to the monarch. It is the Queen’s way of showing gratitude for the way that the Duchess of Cambridge has conducted herself these past eight years; for eight successful years of marriage to her grandson and for producing lineage of the House of Windsor via three heirs. The award was considered a ‘very public show of support from the Queen’ – and is the very highest for services to Her Majesty.
Oh, here’s something else I forgot to point out – in addition to wearing the Lover’s Knot tiara – which is the tiara the Queen usually gives to Kate – Kate also wore the Queen Mother’s sapphire and diamond fringe earrings. As for the RVO, now Kate has the same “rank” as Camilla and Sophie (the Countess of Wessex), and she’s expected to show up at the annual Order of the Garter ceremony. Which will be happening soon:
The Duchess of Cambridge will be joined by two of the most glamourous royals at this year’s Order of the Garter ceremony, which will take place in Windsor Castle on 17 June. HELLO! understands that Queen Letizia of Spain and Queen Maxima of the Netherlands are flying in to support their husbands, King Felipe VI and King Willem-Alexander, as the Queen formally invests them with the Order’s insignia in the Throne Room of the Castle.
Letizia and Maxima will no doubt be in good hands, as Kate is due to attend alongside the Duchess of Cornwall and the Countess of Wessex. The mother-of-three has attended nearly every Garter ceremony since 2011, only missing it in 2015 and 2018 as she was on maternity leave. Her husband Prince William is a member of the Order.
I’m sure all of the royal experts around here know this already, but I did NOT know that Princess Anne is the only Windsor woman who is a member of the Order of the Garter right now. Sophie is not, Kate is not, Camilla is not. Their husbands are members of the Order, but not them. Huh. I wonder if that will be the next prize. Going with the line of succession, it would seem like Camilla should be given the Order of the Garter before Kate though.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.
The sash adds a needed pop of color.
I mean – I’m not a fan of the dress. But overall, she looks pretty good? I love the jewelry.
I bet that’s why she wore white, to let the sash stand out.
Every woman of significance wore white, not just Kate.
I think the whole look is BEAUTIFUL!! I love the dress and it reminds me of buttercream frosting. And yeah, that’s a good thing. She looks gorgeous here.
What is the brooch Kate is wearing at her waist?
I think it may be part of the dress?
It’s part of the sash. The dress is McQueen, it’s “deconstructed lace” I sort of love it. But McQueen is not everyone’s taste which I totally understand.
Okay according to Her Majesty’s Jewel Vault, Kate is wearing the Oak Leaf brooch “securing her sash,” but I think that’s referring to the one at the top of the sash, right? and then the GCVO is at the bottom?
I think the one at the waist is part of the GCVO, it’s a two-parter, the sash with Maltese cross then that brooch at the waist.
NOTE: Just checked the Jewel Vault. Yep, that’s what it is–part of the insignia: the the Star, the Ribband, and the Badge (it’s the Badge that’s at the waist).
“thanks for sticking with my cheater grandson, here’s a sash.” I LOVE THIS SO MUCH
Haha
Me, too! Kaiser has a wicked sense of humor, and it usually pierces right to the truth of the matter, as in this case.
First of all, her posture is literally making me wince in pain. I just straightened my back just looking at her, ouch! Why doesn’t she stand up straight!? 😫
Second, she’s beautiful and it’s her style so whatever. But..that’s a ruffly dress.
Third, isn’t The Order of the Garter kind of like, for blood royals historically? I don’t know anything about it but creepy old conspiracy pieces over the years lol, but I feel like I’ve heard that before?
If you look at other photos, blood royals wear ithe sash from left to right!
That’s not entirely accurate. The female “blood royals” are all wearing the Order of the Garter, which is worn from left shoulder to right hip, and is a plain blue sash. Camilla, Sophie, and Kate are all wearing the Royal Victorian Order, which is work from right shoulder to left hip, and is a blue sash with red and white stripes.
Everytime I see a photo of her, I remember to straighten my back.
Her posture is bad, but I actually feel terrible noticing it. I think it may be a legitimate musculoskeletal problem? Kate is an athlete, and aware of her appearance. I can’t imagine she doesn’t notice and wouldn’t try to fix the posture problem if she could – particularly in these types of photos when she knows exactly where the camera is?
Charlotte Casiraghi has the same posture. I noticed it the other day in her wedding photos.
BeanieBean, I noticed that too about Charlotte. FFS ladies throw your shoulders back and don’t poke your head out. EverythIng should align. They’re supposed to be “royalty” and also they’re too young to stand like that.
I think she has an eating disorder and it’s noticeably affecting her spine. I’ve mentioned it before, but people make excuses for her such as “tall women slouch so as not to stand out” (of course, Kate likes extra high stilettos to appear even taller than she is, so that’s not it. But, people will try to come up with any excuse).
It would be sad if she did have an ED, as so did Diana as a means to control her out of control life.
I’m usually not crazy about ruffles, etc. but I kind of like this, maybe because they are smallish and lie flat.The sash goes well and her tiara looks elegant. I have my usual broken record complaint about her posture.
The tulle is very *right now* as far as fashion.
We’ve seen a ton of dresses with gigantic tulle ruffles and fluffs lately. She doesn’t look like she stole it from a carwash!
It’s perfectly fitted, and I think she wears it well and looks very pretty.
Her “rural rival” Rose looks like she is wearing a nightgown. I’d love to have that dress! But I wouldn’t wear it to a state dinner.
(OMG I am SO GLAD that I’m not required to attend state dinners!)
yes, not my usual also but the ruffles are working for me… the cap sleeves however not so much
It reminds me of a gown the queen wore in the ’50s–some sort of chenille bedspread kind of thing–particularly the top of the gown.
If the bodice had been smooth, I would love this dress, but ruffles all over were a bit much, especially with the sash.
The dress looks like a white feather duster. None of this, the dress, the jewelry, the tiara, the earrings, the sash, look like they belong together.
I agree.
I think dress is awful.
Cosign. It looks like a Swiffer.
The order of the Garter is A HUGE DEAL. The most prestigious British order, behind the Victoria Cross. Prince Harry is not in it (he will be one day). Founded in 1348. There are only 24 living members. I doubt any of the spouses will ever be in it. I think it’s only given to other Kings and Queens, and direct heirs. It’s quite the “to do”.
Spouses of the Monarch are almost always members, so Camilla will most likely be invested once Charles becomes King. Same for Kate when William gets his turn.
Was going to say the same thing. The Order of the Garter can only be held by 24 people at any given time. You gotta wait for someone to die to move up on the list.
QEII’s first Garter Knight was Winston Churchill.
Not exactly. Members of the royal family and foreign monarchs don’t count towards the limit of 24 companions. They are called supernumerary members.
BayTampabay – That is so cool. I didn’t know her first investiture was Churchill. Wonderful 💖
Jan, forgot the part about Royalty persons not counting in the 24 living holders or companions.
I think Kate looks great. Is there a reason why so many women wore white? The Queen, Camilla, princess Anne, Kate, even Rose. Other wonemen didnt. Theresa May wore black. Can anyone explain the protocol on this?
Other Maria here, lol.
Theresa May is probably in mourning for her political career.
😂😂😂
Awesome burn, Maria.
They frequently wear white. In fact, I cant think of the last time that the Queen and Camilla didn’t wear white to a state dinner. It’s elegant and it makes coordinating jewelry and their orders easier. Kate probably didn’t know how to dress with her new order so she just followed suit.
Anne was wearing a yellow or champagne gown, it just reads white in some photos.
Also, BP is pretty gaudy so by wearing a neutral color you will not clash with decoration & decor if pictures are taken.
Noticed how Ivanka totally clashed with her surroundings in all pictures.
Precisely. I think they wear white so frequently because it is the one non-black color that goes with everything, won’t clash with the different sashes and pins (red, blue, and yellow on just Kate’s!), and because it stands out perfectly against the creamy walls in the warm lighting. And wearing it consistently means the focus is on the event and the people, not their fashion.
Sophie looked lovely, but the blue/red/yellow badges and sash looked jarring against her dusky purple gown compared to the white ones.
I love that you’re giving so much coverage to Kate this morning for an event that Nagini clearly thought was HER moment to come out as American royalty.
I read something on Twitter last night that the Windsor women were all wearing old, historic pieces of jewelry to send a message to the rude upstarts “you can’t buy this!”
One of the interesting news reports was that the Queen had or allowed or sanctioned Sophie’s wedding tiara remodel to a more attractive setting, it really looks sooooo much better now.
Sophie has three tiaras I think? The wedding tiara was never great, not the best, but the remodelled wedding tiara she wore last night looks lovely now. It’s a small tiara but lit looks much better ipwith the new readjustments.
By Sophie I meant the Countess of Wessex.
I love Sophie’s remodeled tiara!! It looked “incomplete” before but the addition of the rows of diamonds and pearls really give it a wonderful look, the look it was meant to have from the beginning.
The remodeled tiara is SUCH an improvement. Overall Sophie looked lovely last night, I liked her dress.
Dress looks like a feather duster. Not the worst Kate has looked but she has done better.
And a good question would be if the top royals and direct presidential family coordinated on the decision to wear white, who told Rose Hanbury about it? I see this as a major troll on her part. It says I have people within your circle. And i said this on the other post, her dress is her dress, I just wish it had a modern cut to the top or something fun to balance out the mumsy. It looks so heavy on her.
I kinda agree with you re: the trolling. The dress looked a lot like the one she wore to the 2017 state dinner, but close-ups show that it isn’t (some people thought she was doing a repeat to be lowkey). She also popped up w/o her wedding ring (there’s a ring on her right hand, but apparently it’s not her wedding one), had no tiara when she always wears one to these dinners…it just feels like some deliberate/trollish choices on her part. Kind of strengthens the idea that she *was* behind the initial story about her fight with Kate.
“‘thanks for staying with my cheater grandson, here’s a sash'”–that’s SO funny!
I am usually a bit of a kate hater, esp about her fashion, but I love this gown. LOOOOVE it!!!!!
I hate this dress with a passion, it looks like a towel too old to be used in the house anymore so you take it to the pool.
It’s not the worst McQueen she’s worn, but it is bad. So much fluff. Her hair looked great. I felt for her having to walk in with Munchin. Where was Louise? Can’t believe she’d miss an opportunity to hobnob with royalty.
Rose Hanbury looked great. Her dress reminded me of Kiera Knightly’s green dress from Atonement.
I’m here for the Letizia, Maxima, and Kate coverage. I’m kind of hoping those two pull her aside and give her some fashion/queen tips. Although Maxima could wear sweats and a t shirt and look stylish.
She looks beautiful.
I agree. I dont even usually like ruffles but she is such a slim build that she can pull them off no trouble. Appropriate and lovely all around.
She is also wearing the same face I would wear if I had to politely chat with utter moron Steve Mnuchin.
Yeah, I mean… I think we should all pour one out for poor Kate having to sit next to that guy. I can’t imagine having to make conversation with him. ::: shivers :::
I agree she looks great here, very fresh faced. Her hair is pulled back beautifully, she’s letting the jewels shine, her makeup is fabulous, and she looks more confident. Her expression was far more pleasant than I’d be able to manage if I had to sit next to Mnuchin. I’m impressed. I wonder if that sash has magical powers?
I like the dress, the tiara, and the jewelry. However, when you put the sash with it (and I know it’s a huge deal), I get very strong pageant vibes.
I’m not big on following the royals, and most of the jewelry is kind of ridiculous, but that tiara is really pretty.
This whole Royal crap is so Archaic. Harry & his wife put the spotlight on that. They showed it’s all about photos & drama. The citizens of the United Kingdom are in a housing & economic crisis. Oh and that little Brexit issue. But who cares about any of that, the lead news story is to photograph the dresses, sashes and jewelry of these scammers. The UK press needs to wake up!