Is it tiara o’clock in Windsor this week?
President Biden met with King Charles III at Windsor Castle for their first official visit during the monarch’s new reign today, and royal fans may have their mind on diamonds rather than politics.
However, those that might have got their hopes up for Kate Middleton and Queen Camilla to break out their best jewels at a glittering state banquet for the visit will be disappointed as it’s not quite time for tiaras just yet.
The 80-year-old president touched down in the UK for a working trip, which was not declared an official state visit, today, meaning that such an event — and the accompanying royal gems and evening gowns — were out of the question.
If Biden’s travel to England was marked as a state visit, First Lady Jill Biden, 72, would have accompanied her husband and royal women like the Princess of Wales, 41, Queen Camilla, 75, and more would have donned tiaras and formalwear for a white-tie banquet at Buckingham Palace.
In the past, Middleton has relied on the same tiara her late mother-in-law, Princess Diana, often wore, sporting the pearl-and-diamond Lover’s Knot design for state banquet appearances like last year’s visit with South African president Cyril Ramaphosa.
She’s also worn the Lotus Flower Tiara, which she chose for the 2015 banquet to welcome Chinese president Xi Jinping, later wearing it for a diplomatic reception in December 2022.
Meanwhile, Queen Camilla wore Queen Elizabeth’s Belgian Sapphire Tiara for her most recent state banquet appearance, sparkling in matching sapphire-and-diamond jewelry for last year’s South African visit.
Tiaras aside, the King warmly welcomed President Biden to Windsor Castle today, with the men discussing matters such as climate change after the US leader met with Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
However, hope isn’t lost for a glittering US/UK moment: — during a phone call earlier this year ahead of King Charles’ May 6 coronation, President Biden accepted an invitation to travel to the UK for an official state visit in the future.
Let the tiara watch begin.
