The Duchess of Edinburgh looked sophisticated as she attended a glitzy State Banquet to welcome the President and First Lady of South Korea at Buckingham Palace on Tuesday evening.
Sophie, 58, opted to rewear the regal white Suzannah couture floor-length embroidered gown which she first donned earlier this year for the coronation of her brother-in-law, King Charles, at Westminster Abbey.
The royal completed the elegant ensemble with a Anya Hindmarch silver Maud Clutch bag and Emmy London Charlotte’ Pumps which retail at £455.
She added even more glitz with her favourite aquamarine tiara, which she has worn on many occasions throughout the years, and diamond earrings.
The sparkling tiara features a jaw-dropping central aquamarine stone and Sophie first stepped out in the piece at Prince Albert II of Monaco’s Enthronement celebrations in 2005.
The Duchess of Edinburgh looked sophisticated as she attended a glitzy State Banquet to welcome the President and First Lady of South Korea at Buckingham Palace on Tuesday evening
The now called the Wessex Aquamarine Tiara, because it is clearly a favourite of the royal, was custom-made for Sophie by G. Collins & Sons, a famed English jewelry house.
In 2015, Sophie brought back out the tiara as she attended the wedding of Sweden’s Prince Carl Philip and Sofia Hellqvist and again in 2022 for the first state banquet of King Charles’s reign.
The royal also donned a blue GCVO sash across her chest which featured her Family Order and star.
The King and Queen welcomed Yoon Suk Yeol and his wife Kim Keon Hee at the glittering festivities at Buckingham Palace yesterday.
At the start of the banquet the King gave a speech littered with Korean and references to K-pop culture in front of an audience which included members of the world’s ‘biggest girl band’.
Speaking to more than 300 state banquet attendees, including singers BLACKPINK, he welcomed them with a smattering of Korean: ‘Yeong-gug-e osin geos-eul hwan-yeonghabnida [Welcome to Britain].’
Marking the 140th anniversary of Korea’s diplomatic relationship with the UK, the king described it as a ‘partnership in which close personal connections, fostered over many decades, have blossomed today into a real sense of affection, or jeong, between our societies at so many levels’.
And he even joked about his own visit to the country in 1992 with the late Princess Diana, saying: ‘Sadly, when I was in Seoul all those years ago, I am not sure I developed much of what might be called the Gangnam Style!’
Sophie, 58, opted to rewear the regal white Suzannah couture floor-length embroidered gown which she first donned earlier this year for the coronation of her brother-in-law, King Charles, at Westminster Abbey
Prince Edward and Sophie arrived ahead of the Coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla in May
He also praised Korea’s commitment to the environment despite the country’s great changes.
‘The Republic of Korea, as one of very few countries which ended the twentieth century with more trees than at the century’s beginning, has always grasped this,’ he said.
Also in attendance was the Princess of Wales who looked effortlessly elegant in a white gown and dazzling tiara.
Kate, 41, joined her husband Prince William in welcoming Yoon Suk Yeol and his wife at the glittering festivities.
Looking ethereal in a white dress by Jenny Packham, the mother-of-three added to her look with a glitzy pair of earrings belonging to Queen Elizabeth, her Family Order and her GCVO sash and star.
The royal also opted for the Strathmore Rose Tiara which belonged to the Queen Mother and was a present from her parents in 1923.
The royal completed the elegant ensemble with a Anya Hindmarch silver Maud Clutch bag and Emmy London Charlotte’ Pumps which retail at £455
She added even more glitz with her favourite aquamarine tiara, which she has worn on many occasions throughout the years, and diamond earrings (pictured arriving with Cho Taeyong for the State Banquet)
The Princess of Wales (pictured with Prince William, left) was effortlessly elegant in a white gown and dazzling tiara as she arrived for the State Banquet
The King and Queen appeared to be in great spirits as they attended the glittering occasion
Queen Camilla, King Charles III, President of South Korea Yoon Suk Yeol and his wife Kim Keon Hee at the State Banquet at Buckingham Palace
It can be worn on top of the head or across the forehead as a bandeau – as the then Duchess of York chose to do in keeping with the fashion of the times. But the delicate floral design had not been worn in public for many years.
Kate was joined at the occasion by Queen Camilla, who paid tribute to her late mother-in-law as she unearthed Queen Elizabeth’s magnificent ruby and diamond Burmese tiara.
The late monarch’s tiara was made in the 1970s from gems that originated from the Nizam of Hyderabad tiara, which was given to her as wedding gift.
It matched Camilla’s red velvet evening dress by Fiona Clare, which featured a relaxed silhouette with flowing sleeves and a pleated skirt. She styled her blonde tresses into a signature style, opting for dewy, peachy make-up.
Kate and Camilla also wore yellow brooches pinned on their chest, which featured a portrait of a young Queen Elizabeth II wearing an evening dress with a ribbon and star of the Order of the Garter.
The brooches are a sign that the wearer has been made a part of the Royal Family Order, an honour gifted to female members of the Firm by the monarch.