Kate Middleton’s stylist appears to have put considerable effort into ensuring the Princess of Wales made a striking impression at last night’s state banquet — yet one element of her elaborate ensemble has reportedly rubbed some onlookers the wrong way.
For those who didn’t catch the event, Kate joined Prince William at Windsor Castle on Wednesday evening (3 December), where King Charles III and Queen Camilla hosted the German president and his wife for an official state banquet.
Earlier in the day, President Frank-Walter Steinmeier and First Lady Elke Büdenbender landed at Heathrow Airport, where William and Kate welcomed them before taking part in a ceremonial carriage procession through Windsor alongside Charles and Camilla. The welcome included a 41-gun salute.
For the daytime program, the 43-year-old princess wore a refined navy dress by Burberry, topped with a matching coat crafted by Sarah Burton for Alexander McQueen.
She carried the blue palette into the evening for the banquet, held to commemorate the historic visit — the first by a German head of state in more than 27 years.
Official photographs captured Kate making her entrance into St George’s Hall, which had been decorated for the holidays with a striking 16-foot Christmas tree sourced from Windsor Great Park.
Her evening look featured a cornflower-blue Jenny Packham gown paired with a standout royal jewel: Queen Victoria’s Oriental Circlet tiara.
However, the tiara’s positioning quickly drew attention online, with some viewers insisting it appeared slightly askew.
“Kate’s tiara is crooked,” one Reddit user noted.
Another commented: “Her hair isn’t supporting the tiara well, and the crooked placement is distracting. It’s such a beautiful piece.”
A third observed: “It looks centered from the back, but from the front or certain angles, it definitely seems uneven. I’m curious what caused that.”
One more added: “I love the tiara, but it doesn’t look quite straight. Odd.”
The historic tiara, created more than a century ago by Prince Albert — Queen Victoria’s German-born husband — was crafted by Garrard in London. It features lotus motifs framed by eleven Mughal arches and is embellished with over 2,000 diamonds.
After Albert’s passing, Queen Victoria reportedly declined to wear the piece herself, instead designating it as a Crown heirloom reserved for future queens.
Long before Kate, the tiara was a favorite of Queen Elizabeth II’s mother, the Queen Mother, who wore it frequently during King George VI’s reign and continued to do so throughout her widowhood.
Queen Elizabeth II used the tiara only a single time, during a visit to Malta in 2005.
