Were all of the Windsor women supposed to wear white at the French state banquet?

It’s been a minute since the Windsors have hosted a really glamorous state visit. It’s also been more than a year and a half since anyone allowed the Princess of Wales to wear a tiara and an evening gown. At the last minute on Tuesday, Kate and Prince William were confirmed to attend the state banquet for President and Madame Macron. It was staged at Windsor Castle, and the dinner seemed to off without a hitch. Soft diplomacy, tiaras, and a menu of summer salad, chicken, and “iced blackcurrant parfait on a blackcurrant-soaked sponge with elderflower jelly.”

As I went through the photos, I noticed something odd, as did many other people – it looks like all of the royal women were in white/ivory. Queen Camilla, the Duchess of Edinburgh, Princess Anne and the Duchess of Gloucester all wore white or ivory and glittering jewels and sashes. The Princess of Wales was the only royal woman in red. Do you think Camilla approved of that? The only reason I ask is because these people have made it abundantly clear that they coordinate their colors with each other, often send a message. Did Kate not get the message? Or did she not care? I also wonder how last-minute this preparation was for Kate – her Givenchy dress was new-to-us, but was it actually new-new? It would make sense if Kate threw on something she had in her closet but had never worn if she only got the invitation at the last minute. Still… Kate also has a lot of white gowns in her closet. It’s interesting.

Also interesting… while Kate was placed on Pres. Macron’s right side, the camera angles ensured that Kate was largely hidden behind an enormous centerpiece. That’s something else they would have bragged about if it had been Meghan being blocked – they crowed for months about how a candle blocked shots of Meghan at QEII’s funeral in 2022. So if that was a message, surely this is too?

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.

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86 Responses to “Were all of the Windsor women supposed to wear white at the French state banquet?”

  1. That’s a great question. I have many questions about this appearance too. My belief is that she “missed” Ascot because she wanted to do a tiara event. I believe that she wanted a change to the negotiations. This maybe why when given the opportunity she decided to go off piste and wear red while the others wore white or off white. Whatever leverage she seems to have she is working it to her advantage. I have a feeling Horsilla and Chuckles were not impressed but they may have to live with whatever leverage she has. Time will tell.

    • Neeve says:

      I often say that Kate is the most powerful right now then she has ever been and possibly ever be. That disappearance last year was her threatening to bring the whole house down if Will ever divorced her.She has no reason to fear Camilla or any of the ladies, she has a lot of leverage even if she isn’t aware of it.

      • Tn Democrat says:

        Diana was the most popular member of the royal family by far and the Windsors managed to chip away at her image and reputation. Charles managed to both divorce her AND marry his side piece. Harry has been treated like second class garbage, especially since his mother died. Meghan has endured a targeted media/bot campaign for nearly a decade. Wallis/Edward are still ostracized nearly a century after Edward abdicates. Keener may have leverage, but the Windsors are a vicious, petty lot who will rip her to shreds. If Willy wants a divorce or Charles gets in an epic snit because she pulls focus one time too many, the Windsors will gleefully rip her to shreds. She doesn’t have the “stuff” that has enabled Meghan to endure.

      • Tessa says:

        Kate has no leverage. Married ins have no real power. Kate s disappearing could not bring down the monarchy.sbe has plenty of reasons to fear Camilla.

    • slippers4life says:

      My best guess is that she has kept quiet about William’s mistress, Jason Knauf! Rose was just a distraction.

      • atorontogal says:

        This is my theory too. Kate wants to be queen, end of story. Even if it means being Will’s beard.

    • Megan says:

      The seating chart for this event was done weeks if not months ago. She would not be seated next to Macron if she was a last minute confirmation. Regardless of the flower placement, she was in a power seat.

      • Becks1 says:

        That’s what I think but then why was her attendance not announced? that’s the weird part to me. She hasn’t had that dress in her closet for years, it was probably designed just for this event, so she knew she was attending and Charles knew she was attending. so why the secrecy?

      • Seating charts can be changed last minute this isn’t their first rodeo with a state dinner there is always a plug in if things or people can’t get there. That power seat could have had an Anne or even a Sophie.

    • Louise says:

      Another cosplay? The French flag. Red (Kate) white (royals) and blue ( macron). Maybe unintentional but even before 8 saw the pics I knew Kate would be wearing red. She always has to outshine the female visitors.

      • Bqm says:

        That was my thought. All three colors were represented.

      • BeanieBean says:

        No, visiting diplomats don’t do this sort of thing. There’s no coordination with the home country on what anybody is going to wear. They’d be provided with a list of events/activities & that will guide the individuals about what they choose to wear.

  2. Chaine says:

    They all dress so dowdy, it’s painful. The only thing that’s exciting is the tiaras.

    • Blogger says:

      Definitely the only thing worth seeing with this current crop of characters. Publicly owned tiaras.

      • Lauren says:

        None of these tiaras are publicly owned. Every single jewel worn last night is privately owned by a member of the BRF

      • Becks1 says:

        This is where the line between “private” and “public” gets blurred. Anne’s tiara was given as a gift to her for christening a ship – should that be part of the royal collection? Many of the tiaras worn that are considered “private” were given to the late queen or her mother/grandmother at some point due to their status as queens. But they’re considered personal gifts, like so many of the middle eastern jewelry given as gifts.

        but is that just another form of cash for access?

      • Lauren says:

        @Becks1 the ownership of jewelry, especially tiaras, is actually really clear except where the BRF and media have attempted to deliberately obscure ownership. The only jewelry known to be part of the Royal Collection are the items Q. Victoria designated in her will and some jewelry gifts received since the policy change in like 2015ish.

      • Becks1 says:

        I know the ownership is technically clear, i’m looking at it from a different angle, not just what is officially royal collection and what isn’t.

      • Bqm says:

        Here the ownership is pretty clear.

        The sapphire tiara was purchased by Elizabeth II. I had previously belonged to a Coburg cousin of Queen Victoria, Princess Louise of Belgium. The other pieces were part of her purchased wedding gift from her father.

        The Lover’s knot tiara was commissioned and bought by Queen Mary as she loved the similar one belonging to her grandmother the Duchess of Cambridge, hence the name. The earrings were bequeathed by Mrs Ronnie Grenville to the Queen Mum who gave them to Elizabeth for her wedding.

        Sophie’s was a wedding gift from the Queen and reportedly made from jewelry belonging to Philip’s mother Alice.

        The Duchess of Gloucesters parure was given to her MIL by Queen Mary who was given the pieces for her marriage from her parents.

        Anne’s tiara is the only one not left by a family friend, purchased or given as a wedding gift by a family member. But the “rules” are unofficial and fairly unconfirmed. I guess we’ll know when she passes whether it’s considered personal property or not. The rest of her jewelry was given to her by her parents for her 18th birthday or Charles (brooch) for her wedding.

    • SarahLee says:

      I actually think Kate looks good here. The red is gorgeous. She and William both look good. No doubt they have “overstepped the mark” by looking so good. LOL! If she knew the color was white and chose to wear red, then wow. I give her more credit for that than I would have ever expected. It is so jarringly different that it has to be purposeful, right? William is also dressed differently.

  3. Becks1 says:

    I know I keep saying this but this is all so interesting to me lol. With how staged and well coordinated these dinners are, I dont think Kate was a last minute addition, they would have had to rearrange the seating and entrances etc. I mean I guess “last minute” in this case could have meant the morning of, but still, the lack of confirmation of her attendance was….interesting.

    and the flowers blocking her are hilarious.

    While I do think the royals coordinate colors on some occasions (especially to prove M wrong), what Meghan said was that she wasn’t told what others were wearing but knew she shouldnt wear the same thing so just kind of guessed and went with neutrals. I wonder here if everyone just went with white (Anne wore a similar dress, maybe the same one, to the last stat dinner) and Kate just went with red.

    But I pointed out in the other thread that Camilla wore red to the last two state dinners – I wonder if kate thought she would wear red again and tried to steal the color?
    ‘I dont think Kate wore red so that she, Camilla and Brigitte coordinated bc there are no formal pictures of all three together.

    • Blogger says:

      If this wasn’t last minute, why the secrecy over whether she would attend or not?

      It’s such a rude thing to do. The event is NOT about her. It’s a state occasion. She’s there to represent the STATE.

      Yet she makes it all about her with her passive aggressive dressing. Ugh. Every week she diminishes her role.

      Can’t help but compare her unworthiness to Diana and the way she added her magic to strengthen the role of the Crown on the world’s stage. Diana’s soft power was the je ne sais quoi to British diplomacy.

      • First comment says:

        The whole secrecy is to build up the suspense..will she or won’t she…? That’s the question for the rota

      • mblates says:

        my first thought was they didn’t announce kate’s appearance earlier because they were afraid of a last minute cancellation like at ascot?

      • SarahLee says:

        Unless her health is truly such that it is a day to day thing. It is so hard to tell because she wasn’t ever a hard worker. But even Kate being a “last minute” addition doesn’t explain William. He isn’t “day to day.” He also has on a different suit, if you’ll notice. No red cuffs and collar.

      • Becks1 says:

        The only two things I can think of for the secrecy:

        1) her attendance is NOT something the palace counts on – maybe she really does have “good days” and “bad days” but they aren’t related to cancer but something else. Maybe that was the reason for the ascot snafu – they were told she was going and then at the literal last minute she pulled out, embarrassing the palace.

        2) They really do think that by not announcing her attendance, it builds up suspense and has more people paying attention to the dinner. but I dont know who that audience would be. We would be talking about the state dinner today here if Kate attended or not. People who aren’t talking about it weren’t going to talk about it anyway.

      • jais says:

        I do think they wanted to avoid her pulling out and that’s maybe why it was announced so last minute. Bc her pulling out of ascot at the last minute became a bigger story than it should have been, which did embarrass BP.

      • Jenniem says:

        @sarahlee, except her health is only ‘day to day’ when it’s work related, not during the 5 overseas holidays she’s had, her daily gym, running, swimming sessions which have been breathlessly reported. Given she’s been “cancer” free for 7 months and finished “chemo” over a year ago… No one discusses Charles work as day to day and he actually has cancer.

      • Unblinkered says:

        Agreeing with @Blogger’s post above:- KM’s failure to confirm attendance until the last minute was just rude. It was a State Dinner, she should have been there in white like the other royal ladies blending into the background and giving Mme Macron the limelight. It was not about KM.
        Her behaviour has become unacceptable.

    • Eurydice says:

      The flowers are a hoot – almost like payback. ” You want nature, I’ll give you nature.”

      It really is fascinating. The H&M story has covered things for years, but that blanket has become threadbare and now we’re seeing how squirrelly the royals are.

      • jais says:

        ” You want nature, I’ll give you nature” is cracking me up.

      • FlamingHotCheetos2021 says:

        At this point it’s less of a blanket and more of a fishing net in some places, not gonna lie.

    • Nic919 says:

      I agree that kate was expected by Charles to attend this one, hence the seating and the sarah burton dress which would not have been a last minute thing. But it also wouldn’t have been in her closet for hears because burton only started Givenchy this past September.

      I do wonder if the ascot mess was why they didn’t announce anything.

      Kate wearing red is mostly likely because she always dresses like a flag and she wanted another red formal dress.

      The dress is actually very loose on her, especially in the bodice. The trend of using clothing to add bulk continues.

      The expressions around William remain forced and exaggerated. The bots can spin this as some sort of victory but no amount of filters and photoshop can replace how awkward it all looks.

    • Digital Unicorn says:

      This is not the first state dinner she’s been blocked by flowers – there’s been a few.

      We know she’s never met a camera she can’t find so

  4. Tessa says:

    I don’t think Kate has all that power. Married ins traditionally have little leverage.

    • Things seemed to have changed since her disappearance. Things are going her way for a reason. I have my beliefs on what that reason may be but she has something she is using to her lazy advantage.

      • Nic919 says:

        If her leverage is that William did something to her, once he’s king he will control all the levers. There is already enough out there to turn things on kate and her family.

        The monarch is the institution and the institution protects its monarch no matter what.

      • Unblinkered says:

        I, too, think I’ve worked out what’s going on and it hangs on the sad events of early last year.
        W now has to play ball, and it seems the RF may have reason to be grateful to Carol in managing the aftermath.

      • Tessa says:

        I don’t see any change in kates status. Still lazy still dependent on William

  5. Blogger says:

    Thanks for the menu and the place sitting! I’m sure Macron, as a fluent English speaker, would have kept the conversation flowing with Lazy.

    Also noticed the sashes. The Lazies and the others are wearing blue while the monarch and the President are wearing red. Any reason for that?

    Love the table gilded pieces especially in the photo where Lazy is blocked – St George slaying the dragon perhaps.

    The bald man escorting Sophie doesn’t look too happy. She looks as if she’s cradling a pregnant tummy.

    • Emma says:

      I am far from the expert when it comes to orders, however, it is usually traditional that the monarch and their ‘state’ guest will have swapped honours, either at this visit or at previous visits. I would guess Macron conferred a French honour, denoted by a red sash, when C&C were there last. These are typically limited to the monarch (sometimes their spouse), so the rest of the family will be wearing blue sashes to denote either Order of the Garter or some other family order.

      Sophie’s dress does nothing for her…

      • JanetDR says:

        I also have a question 🙋‍♀️ What is the significance of the direction of the sash?
        Sophie’s hand position while walking makes the dress puff out in an unfortunate manner.

    • Nic919 says:

      Camilla was given the French legion of honour which explains her red sash and macron was given the order of bath. The British don’t give honours to the spouse of the head of state so Brigitte was not given anything. Charles was already given the legion of honour in 1984.

      Everyone else was wearing their own British honours, either the garter or Victorian order for Kate and Sophie.

    • BeanieBean says:

      Sophie’s dress is ugly & she might want to remember to walk with her hands at her sides. Also, she is not really known for her conversation & that guy–French, I assume–isn’t bothering to be polite about ignoring her.

      Does anybody know the protocol for the walking through the hallway? In some photos, each person is walking with their spouse, in others they’re walking with a guest. Is it on the way in to dinner & on the way out? Anybody know?

  6. Jilly says:

    Cam’s eyelift is working overtime here.

  7. sevenblue says:

    They did that blocking thing not just to Meghan, but also to Prince Harry when he was there alone for his father’s King ceremony (forgot the official name 😭😭). Yes, on both occasions, they leaked to the press that they did it on purpose for revenge. These senior royals and their gray men are nothing but small petty bitches. Before Meghan, Charles and Camilla were obsessed with Kate stealing their thunder. Now Meghan is gone, they are back to eating at Kate. Too bad she wasn’t smart enough to make a friend of another woman, so they could be stronger together.

    I saw some comments about senior women creating French flag, but surely it should have been the current Queen wearing the red, since it differentiates from others. Kate wore that weird “little red riding hood” dress to the last state event too. It is obvious she is trying to annoy Camilla & Charles. I don’t see why they wouldn’t tell her to wear white.

    • Blogger says:

      Karma came back for Lazy. She forgot that she was being roasted by the rats before Meghan came on the scene. Now that Meghan’s gone, the target returns to Lazy and her social climbing mother.

  8. Me at home says:

    Huh. I posted on the other thread that maybe they issued a last-minute invite because they needed her to distract from what was starting to look like a clown show. What with Charles’ bloody eye and Brigitte ignoring her husband and suitcases falling out of the back of the French van. Maybe they decided they wanted her after all, so the press would write about anything else. And maybe she did have an extra Givenchy gown in her closet, although she’s so skinny these days and that waistband looks tightly fitted.

    But that red gown was still a choice. We know she has a white state visit gown from previous events, and she’s not afraid to rewear.

    Someone said Rose was there, and frankly I’m more interested in what she wore.

    • BeanieBean says:

      The suitcase thing was pretty funny, but wasn’t that the fault of the French staff not the British? They bring their own luggage handlers, drivers, security, etc., right? I mean, I know the British supply additional security, but it’s not just Macron, his wife, & their secretaries, there’s a lot of additional staff on these visits.

  9. Jenniem says:

    Exactly to both of those! They were the comments I made in the previous post. The centre piece is hilarious. And from the other angle she was blocked by flowers.

    I always think keen disobeys fairly regularly and she can get away with it so she does.

    • Tessa says:

      There are limits to what Kate can do. The thing is the heir is lazy and Kate enables that. Charles and the queen just let wil liam laze about.

  10. Steph says:

    Why are the Windsors all so weird with their hands?! Sophie is carrying around her belly like a bump bra.

  11. Livvy says:

    I’ve always wondered, how little she must actually SAY at these events in conversation. With so much effort on what to wear (white? no, red!) and decisions like which wig will hold up the heavy tiara best, she has very little time to prep for how to converse with world leaders – even after all these years of “learning.” Those prep sessions with her advisors are probably about what NOT to say, which is far easier for someone who is too anxious to speak. Of course, from the beginning she had been promised that she would always be protected from any kind of mental strain like having to say something substantial or interesting! To be fair, Camilla doesn’t seem to be a winner at any of this either, but Camilla at least has the aura of an adult who can hold a conversation. With Kate it must be excruciating. After talking about travel, the weather and her kids, everyone must be dying of awkwardness. Some world leaders will take pity on her and just keep talking about whatever, but she will feel the shame of not being able to play at even a basic level. She must have always hated these events because they likely still make her feel incredibly small. I really don’t believe that she desires “tiara” events. No one does, but they’re particularly brutal for her, I imagine.

    • Tessa says:

      Kate does not bother with self improvement. She can get public speaking lessons or mentored by someone to improve social skills. She’s too lazy.

      • Livvy says:

        William must have forbidden any help for Kate as well because of all of the people who helped Diana and wrote/talked about it. I’m sure Kate didn’t have much of a problem with that because you’re right, she wasn’t really interested in creating a real role and she thought he would protect her. But no, he always looked annoyed when she wasn’t performing like a pro…with no practice. Then Meghan came around making good speeches with no notes and William probably said, Why aren’t you any better at this? You’re making ME look bad.

      • Tessa says:

        Kate whose goal was to marry William could have taken public speaking courses at university. Apparently she didn’t

    • Blogger says:

      Given Lazy‘s penchant for her French holidays, I’m sure she asked Macron for some advice on where her next skiing trip should be since Courchevel got exposed. Wonder if Macron has a holiday home in Provence. Or Corsica.

      • Livvy says:

        Exactement! Wink-wink from Macron – he was relieved to have found a way to have a conversation with her

  12. IdlesAtCranky says:

    It really is something to see the “royals” put on this display of conspicuous consumption while their citizenry is struggling to feed themselves.

    JP Caonabo wrote an absolutely scathing post on that very theme:
    https://wp.me/pf8Iev-231

    • First comment says:

      An excellent post, indeed!

    • Blogger says:

      Yes please! Love the eye watering amounts of taxpayer expense mentioned. Hint, hint Republic!

      PS I saw some footage of the “crowds” outside Windsor watching the parade…very anorexic. That should worry the courtiers. They’re not popular.

    • Becks1 says:

      oh that’s amazing. Favorite parts –

      “Meanwhile, the Prince and Princess of Wales – fresh from the latest round of palace PR attempting to convince us their open-carriage ride was a vital piece of statecraft – nodded sagely while yet another bottle of Louis Roederer was popped. Diplomacy, dear reader, is exhausting. A carriage ride and a meal – after all that “work”, they’ll be in urgent need of another holiday!”

      and this is the line that should really rattle the royals –
      “If the British monarchy can’t at least pretend to exist in the same reality as the people who pay for it, then maybe it’s time to rethink what exactly we’re getting in return.”

      That should be their biggest fear. The Queen Mother understood it and she got a lot of leverage for decades from the palace being bombed during WWII, because it meant she lived in the same reality as the peasants – even if food rations and the like did not apply to the royals – people still felt they were experiencing the same war. QEII serving in the war, Prince Phillip serving in the war – same thing. People felt they had this shared experience. That bought them decades. But its gone now.

    • QuiteContrary says:

      That was an amazing read.

      Loved this line, too: “St George’s Hall was the scene of such opulence that it could’ve been lifted straight from a French Revolution fever dream.”

      The Brits are famously scared of the word “revolution.” (It’s the “American War of Independence,” not the Revolutionary War, in England.) This should make the royals nervous.

    • Batman says:

      They are wearing the colors of France’s flag. Macron wife in blue, Kate in red and others in white.

    • Cassie says:

      JP Caonabo always nails their articles . This one is beautifully brutal .

    • Cassie says:

      If you look closely at the banquet photo you can see William sitting beside Mrs Macron and looking absolutely miserable .

  13. Amy Bee says:

    I think she wasn’t told that the other women would be wearing white. I suspect Kate is getting a little bit of the treatment that Meghan got.

    • jais says:

      It’s interesting to think about bc either it was planned as an ode to the flag…which I don’t think is the case. Or she purposely ignored the request to wear white and showed up in red to stand out. Or as you said, the others all wore white and didn’t give the Kate memo. Where’s the burgundy brigade? Was the brigade fractured?

    • Jaded says:

      I think Kate’s relationship with the other women is pretty fragile. She’s mean-girled her way into a corner.

    • Jenniem says:

      Ha, no. During Qe2’s time white was the norm for state dinners. Presumably it’s continuing. Kate likes to stand out, she wants all the attention. When there are colour themes she’ll often wear a very bright, different colour. That’s Kate all over. Attention seeking child.

      • Unblinkered says:

        But on this occasion very disrespectful not to be in white – the intention, I’m sure, had been to let Mme Macron as the guest of honour take the limelight in a dress and colour of her choosing.
        The ignorance of KM and her stylist mother makes the royal family look unprofessional.

  14. Harla says:

    The only “look” that I’m really liking is the Duchess of Gloucester, her dress with the turquoise tiara and necklace really sing to me. The rest just look rather “dowdy” and certainly aren’t showing their stunning jewels to their best advantage. Lastly, I don’t believe that I’ll ever get used to seeing Camilla wearing the late queen’s jewels and I imagine I’ll feel the same when Kate starts to wear them.

    • Nic919 says:

      The Duchess of Gloucester seems to always put together a look. Maybe it’s because she wasn’t raised in the UK but she is the most regal of them all.

      She also inherited great jewels.

      • JillinIL says:

        I also wonder whether it’s because neither she nor her husband ever expected to be in their positions. They had actual lives and interests and personalities before the death of the Duke’s older brother resulted in him inheriting the Dukedom. He had actually trained and worked as an architect before that.

  15. Sue says:

    Sophie’s dress is in the style of a bridesmaid’s dress from the 90s.

  16. Elizabeth says:

    Came here to say the same about the Duchess of Gloucester. Great figure and stylish hair. Never flashy or dowdy.

  17. lemon&lime says:

    She’s an art history major — surely she could speak of French art? The Impressionists at a minimum? Rodin? Chagall? Whatever the current exhibit is at the Louvre? She could be working on him to allow some of the paintings out of the country for an exhibit at the Tate or somewhere. And then have Charles loan a few from the Palace collection.

    Wine — what will the harvest be this year?

    Trends in food?

  18. Sean says:

    Camilla’s verging on Hawaiian muumuu styling…

  19. Sandra says:

    All those sashes and medals are so ridiculous! Don’t they realize that this is the twenty first century? Almost as bad as those dumb wigs the lawyers and judges wear! And don’t tell me it’s tradition! What was tradition 200-300 years ago doesn’t always translate to the modern world.
    Idiots.

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