Kate Middleton dazzles in gold at 'No Time to Die' premiere with nod to Princess Diana

Kate Middleton was the golden girl of the red carpet at the long-awaited world premiere of the latest James Bond film, No Time to Die, on Tuesday.

The Duchess of Cambridge dazzled in an embellished gold gown by one of her go-to designers, Jenny Packham, in what was one of her most glamorous looks to date.

The floor-length gown featured heavily beaded padded shoulders, flowing into a cape at the back, while the front featured sequin work that pulled the gown in at the waist, giving way to a flowing, chiffon silhouette at the bottom.

She completed the look with a plaited up-do that showcased a pair of gold disc earrings by Indian brand O’nitaa and nude heels by Aquazzura.

The duchess’s look stole the show, with James Bond himself – Daniel Craig – remarking that she looked “jolly lovely” as she greeted him ahead of the premiere.

See stars walk the red carpet for the world premiere of 'No Time to Die':

The royal was joined by her husband, Prince William, as well as Prince Charles and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, for the premiere which took place in London’s Royal Albert Hall.

The event was the first film premiere attended by the duke and duchess since they hosted a socially distanced screening of Cruella in May. However, the couple are usually regulars at UK film premieres, as Prince William is president of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts.

The couple walked the red carpet at the October 2015 premiere of the last Bond film, Spectre, alongside Prince Harry.

Fashion commentators were quick to draw a comparison between the duchess’s look for Tuesday’s premiere to a dress worn by Prince William’s mother, Princess Diana, for the premiere of Bond film A View to a Kill in 1985.

Princess Diana wore a metallic dress with exaggerated shoulders for the 1985 premiere of 'A View to Kill'. Getty Images

The Princess of Wales wore a gold lamé dress by Bruce Oldfield that featured similarly exaggerated shoulders.

The duchess has been known to pay tribute to Diana with her style choices over the years, including with a red polka dot dress she wore when first introducing Prince Louis to the world on the steps of the Lindo Wing.

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Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.

Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.

“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.

“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.

Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.

From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.

Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.

BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.

Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.

Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.

“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.

Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.

“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.

“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”

The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”

In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe

Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010

Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille

Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm

Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year

Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”

Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners

TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013

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