Kate sparkles in scarlet gown at Buckingham Palace diplomatic reception

Royal family members greet hundreds of guests at first Diplomatic Corps reception in three years

Kate, Princess of Wales, dazzled in a sequinned red full-length gown and the Lotus Flower Tiara as the royal family welcomed diplomats to Buckingham Palace on Tuesday.

King Charles III, Queen Consort Camilla and the Prince of Wales also attended the first Diplomatic Corps reception in three years, greeting hundreds of guests at the glittering affair in London.

The Buckingham Palace event was the first Diplomatic Corps reception of the king’s reign, and the monarch, the queen consort and the Prince and Princess of Wales welcomed foreign ambassadors to the grand occasion in the royal residence’s state rooms.

The Princess of Wales, with her hair worn down and straightened without her trademark waves, was dressed in a floor-length scarlet Jenny Packham dress decorated in sequinned flower motifs, as well as a blue Royal Victorian Order sash and the late Queen Elizabeth II’s Family Order, which sits on a yellow ribbon.

Her drop diamond earrings belonged to the queen.

The princess has worn the Lotus Flower Tiara — also known as the Queen Mother’s Papyrus Tiara — previously.

Made of diamonds in fanned motifs and crowned by floating diamond arches, it belonged to Princess Margaret.

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She also wore it to the diplomatic reception at the palace in 2013 and to her first state banquet in the UK in 2015 during a Chinese state visit.

The queen consort once again wore the late queen’s diamond and sapphire tiara and necklace, which she chose for the South African state banquet last month, and an Anna Valentine gown.

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The late queen was set to host the white-tie gathering in March this year at Windsor Castle, but it was postponed due to Russian’s invasion of Ukraine.

It is usually held every December, but there were no receptions in 2020 and 2021 due to the Covid pandemic.

The reception traditionally includes a buffet supper and dancing.

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