No U.S. president had ever gotten to see the Princess of Wales in a tiara twice—until Kate Middleton greeted Donald Trump at Wednesday’s Buckingham Palace banquet.
Six years after his first state trip to the United Kingdom, President Trump has made another visit to the royal family. This is one more state visit to the U.K. than any other American president has made—an “unprecedented” honor, in the words of Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, and hopefully a diplomatic relief amid the trade crisis over Trump’s tariffs. Trump called King Charles III “a wonderful man” in February, when Starmer handed him the king’s invitation for another state visit. Later, Trump reduced the tariffs he imposed on the U.K.
The first day of this Trump trip began with the arrival of the president and first lady Melania at Windsor Castle, and had its climax with the traditional gala dinner offered there in his honor by King Charles III and Queen Camilla.
Queen Camilla, who recovered from the sinusitis that kept her away from Tuesday’s funeral for the Duchess of Kent, wore the Belgian Sapphire Tiara, one of the most spectacular from the royal collection, and an elegant blue dress. But let’s not kid ourselves. With apologies to Melania Trump—who wore a unique yellow dress with a purple sash—it was once again Kate Middleton who took the cake at a state banquet. She graced Buckingham Palace’s great dining room in the Lover’s Knot tiara, a favorite of Princess Diana, and a majestic white lace dress by British designer Phillipa Lepley with a hand-embroidered overdress.
“How beautiful,” Trump said to Princess of Wales at their first meeting this afternoon.
