We’re still talking about the Princess of Wales’s state banquet look last night, for the German president’s state visit. I feel like I’m taking crazy pills as I read through the coverage too, and the sycophancy doesn’t stop with the British media. Everyone is seemingly in agreement that Kate looked amazing and perfect. And… in my opinion, she was a mess. The Jenny Packham gown was simply not a good design, and I didn’t even like the tiara, which was too big and overwhelming for Kate’s head and increased the “lollipop” vibe. The Telegraph dug into the history of the tiara though, and I did find it somewhat interesting. They also tried to explain why Kate didn’t flag-dress.

While the gown was a showstopper, the most significant detail in her look was the tiara – Queen Victoria’s Oriental Circlet. It’s the first time Catherine has worn the headpiece, which was designed by Prince Albert for Queen Victoria. Albert, of course, was German, and the tiara one of many tokens of his love for the monarch. The Princess’s decision to wear it is likely intended to symbolise and celebrate Anglo-German relations

The tiara was created by Garrard in 1853, and Albert’s design was inspired by the arch and lotus motifs in jewels presented by the East India Company at the Great Exhibition in 1851. It was originally set with opals, one of his favourite stones, along with 2,600 diamonds. Those opals were later replaced with rubies by Queen Alexandra, who believed opals to be unlucky.

Queen Victoria referenced her husband’s design talent in her diary in 1843, writing, “Albert has such taste and arranges everything for me about my jewels.”

“The Princess is more conscious than ever of balancing a modern sensibility with nods to royal history and the continuity of a long lineage, which she and her husband represent,” observes Bethan Holt, Telegraph fashion director and author of The Duchess of Cambridge: A Decade of Modern Royal Style. “She rarely wears new tiaras, so it feels especially significant that she’s chosen the Oriental Circlet, perhaps as a reference to Queen Alexandra once wearing it on a state visit to Germany.”

The almost violet shade of her dress was thoughtfully chosen too. It continues a blue theme from earlier in the day, when she greeted the visiting dignitaries in a blue Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen coat. It’s thought that Catherine and the Queen were nodding to “Prussian blue”, which is said to have been created by accident in 1704 by Berlin-based colourmaker Johann Jacob Diesbach.

Catherine is once again flying the flag for British fashion in choosing a Jenny Packham gown. And it’s important that she does: fashion is worth £60bn to the British economy and she has the capacity to put it on a global stage just as effectively as Monday’s Fashion Awards – if not more so.

“[The gown] has the major wow factor which Jenny Packham is so brilliant at delivering,” Holt says. “It’s Catherine’s first time wearing Packham – once one of her regular inner circle of designers – in quite a while. The cape and sequin details are quintessential Packham, the result is spectacular and really delivers the Princess effect which state banquets calls for.”

[From The Telegraph]

I’m not anti-Packham by any means – I think some of those dresses and gowns are lovely, and I think Packham’s designs “suit” Kate and her energy. But this specific Packham gown kind of sucked and it ended up emphasizing Kate’s frail frame. The skirt is a disaster too. And no, this isn’t Prussian Blue?? Did I actually take crazy pills? You could maybe argue that Kate’s McQueen coat from earlier in the day was close to Prussian Blue (it was actually more of a cobalt), but the gown isn’t even Prussian-Blue-adjacent. As for the tiara… I didn’t know that Prince Albert loved opals, and that he originally had Garrard make the tiara with opals and diamonds? That’s interesting. Ever since QEII died, we’ve been seeing all of these rarely-worn pieces from the Royal Collection, and it’s just a reminder that QEII really only wore a small fraction of the Royal Collection jewels.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images and Kensington Palace.