Kate Middleton just wore Princess Diana's iconic tiara for a party

(Image credit: Getty Images)

published 12 December 2019

Last night Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge attened an evening reception for members of the Diplomatic Corps at Buckingham Palace, accompanied by Prince William.

For the occasion, she wore a black velvet dress, teamed with her Royal Family Order brooch, which was bestowed to her by the Queen last year, and which she only wears at white tie events.

The diamonds were also out in force, not only as it was a very formal event, but it was also in the evening, which means they are allowed (there are strict sartorial rules to abide by).

So Kate opted for one of her favourite tiaras, which also happened to be one of Princess Diana's preferred pieces too. Fun fact, the Queen apparently wanted her to wear it on her wedding day to Prince Charles, but Diana chose to wear her own family's Spencer tiara instead, reportedly as it was less heavy and wouldn't give her a headache.

The Duchess often wears it at dressy events, such as the state banquet for the official visit of the King and Queen of the Netherlands in London in October 2018.

Yesterday, she finished off her look with chandelier diamond earrings and a diamond necklace, no doubt also part of the Royal collection.

Penny Goldstone is the Digital Fashion Editor at Marie Claire, covering everything from catwalk trends to royal fashion and the latest high street and Instagram must-haves.

Penny grew up in France and studied languages and law at the Sorbonne Nouvelle University in Paris before moving to the UK for her MA in multimedia journalism at Bournemouth University. She moved to the UK permanently and has never looked back (though she does go back regularly to stock up on cheese and wine).

Although she's always loved fashion - she used to create scrapbooks of her favourite trends and looks, including Sienna Miller and Kate Moss' boho phase - her first job was at MoneySavingExpert.com, sourcing the best deals for everything from restaurants to designer sales.

However she quit after two years to follow her true passion, fashion journalism, and after many years of internships and freelance stints at magazines including Red, Cosmopolitan, Stylist and Good Housekeeping, landed her dream job as the Digital Fashion Editor at Marie Claire UK.

Her favourite part of the job is discovering new brands and meeting designers, and travelling the world to attend events and fashion shows. Seeing her first Chanel runway IRL at Paris Fashion Week was a true pinch-me moment.

Marie Claire Newsletter