When Brigitte Macron, Kate Middleton, and Queen Camilla gathered Tuesday, their outfits were different, but conveyed the same message: One of Franco-British friendship. On Tuesday evening, for a state dinner at Windsor Castle celebrating the official visit of Emmanuel Macron and his wife at the invitation of King Charles III and the Queen Consort—the first in 17 years—the three women joined forces to choose the blue, white, and red colors common to the British and French flags.
The French First Lady made her entrance at Windsor (Buckingham Palace is undergoing work) in a royal blue cape dress, her hair up, revealing details worked into the gown’s shoulders. The Queen Consort opted for a white dress, reproducing the evening’s tricolor theme with an impressive set of sapphires (the Belgian Sapphire Tiara and matching necklace, both prized by her late mother-in-law before her) and a red sash bearing her medals and honors. The Princess of Wales, arriving on the arm of Prince William and preceding Princess Anne and Prince Edward, completed the trio in a fiery carmine gown, also with a cape, with a royal blue sash to complete the look. She too opted for a tiara, and not just any tiara: Queen Mary’s Lover’s Knot Tiara, worn before her by Elizabeth II and a particular favorite of Princess Diana, which Kate has worn on several occasions.
Kate’s dress marks something of a turning point: It’s the first look designed for her by Sarah Burton since her arrival at the helm of Givenchy. She is (how could we forget?) the designer of Kate’s wedding dress, in 2011, when she took over the artistic direction of Alexander McQueen, and since then, the Duchess, then Princess, has worn many of her creations, seeming particularly fond of Burton’s tailoring.
To welcome the French couple earlier this week, however, the princess paid tribute to her hosts by choosing a French house: Dior. It’s the first time she’s worn a piece by the designer. She wore a powder-pink suit with a jacket and matching tulle skirt.
According to the Daily Mail, the royals enjoyed a plate of summer vegetables with raw tomato vinaigrette and virgin olive oil, followed by a supreme of free-range chicken with asparagus and tarragon cream, and for dessert, a blackcurrant parfait. The selection of alcoholic beverages at the end of the meal was, naturally, royal: a 1977 port and a 1948 cognac, a nod to the birth years of the French president and the British monarch.
Originally published in Vanity Fair France.
