King Charles III, today, hosted his first-ever Diplomatic Corps reception at Buckingham Palace. He was joined by Queen Camilla and The Prince and Princess of Wales for the annual diplomatic reception. The reception was cancelled in 2020 and 2021 due to the pandemic and was scheduled in March this year but again got cancelled due to the Russian invasion of Ukraine. The last reception was held in December 2019.
Some 1000 Diplomatic Corps, Ambassadors and High Commissioners, based in London who supports the work of the Royal Family in representing the UK at home and abroad attend the reception. This work includes the hosting of State Visits and The King’s regular audiences with Ambassadors and High Commissioners. The preparation behind the reception requires hours of intricate planning by the Master of the Household and the Marshal of the Diplomatic Corps, as well as the commandeering of almost every member of the waiting- staff.
Camilla Queen Consort and King Charles arrive at a diplomatic reception at Buckingham Palace. #Royals #diplomatic #BuckinghamPalace #Queen pic.twitter.com/RwoM2RBuDy
— Rookie (@royalfocus1) December 6, 2022
The Royal Family arrived at the Palace for the reception. King Charles and Queen Camilla are still using Clarence House as their residence and Buckingham Palace, which is going through extensive renovation, is used to host official events only. You can find more about Queen Camilla’s Tiara and the jewels of the night here at the Court Jeweller.
The white-tie Reception is the main social event of the year in London for the diplomatic community reflecting the Royal family’s importance in terms of the UK’s international relations. Up to 2018, the diplomatic reception used be a private affair and we used to get only arrival pictures and we used to get excited over the car window pictures. In 2019, The then Prince of Wales, Charles, suggested bringing a Pool photographer to capture the moments and shared it with the members of the public.
Heading towards The Princess of Wales, Catherine’s, style of the evening. After almost 7 years, we saw the Tiara change for the Princess and as expected a gorgeous new gown.
For the dazzling evening event, The Princess of Wales wore a red Jenny Packham Elodie gown. Thanks to UfoNoMore for the quick id.
The evening saw the return of the Lotus Flower (Papyrus) Tiara that The Princess of Wales, Catherine, first wore at her first Diplomatic Reception in December 2013. The tiara was originally owned by Queen Elizabeth, Queen Mother. Tiara came back in 2013 when The Duchess of Cambridge wore it at Diplomatic Reception and again in 2015 at the Chinese State Banquet. Read more about the gorgeous Royal jewel here.
The Princess of Wales paired the tiara with Queen’s Diamond Pendant Earrings. The earrings feature a cluster of diamonds that are suspended from four diamonds having another strand of diamonds inside. The Princess has worn the earrings regularly since then on many prominent occasions including the 2016 Diplomatic Reception, the 2017 Trooping the Colour, the Anna Freud Gala Dinner in 2017, the Norway Gala Dinner in February 2018, the wedding of Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank in October 2018 and more recently for her 40th birthday portrait.
The Princess topped her outfit with her GCVO regalia. She wore a blue, red and white sash of the Royal Victoria Order that was gifted by the late Queen Elizabeth II to Catherine in April 2019 at her 8th Wedding Anniversary with her Dame Grand Cross marking her appointment as a member of the Royal Victorian Order and the Royal Family Order of Queen Elizabeth II.
The Princess topped her sash with Bentley and Skinner Art Deco Diamond Set Brooch that she wore last month at Remembrance Sunday.
In other news, Buckingham Palace has announced that King Charles III and Queen Camilla along with other members of the Royal Family will attend the Princess of Walses’ ‘Together At Christmas’ Carol at Westminster Abbey on December 15.
