The 2019 Diplomatic Corps Reception has come and gone, but the photos taken at the glitzy event will last us until next year. Members of the royal family and guests attended the Buckingham Palace affair in full force, bringing their A game for the white tie dress code. While Queen Elizabeth looked elegantly posh in her Angela Kelly state gown and emerald drop Vladimir tiara, Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, looked sleek and sophisticated in a velvet Alexander McQueen gown and the Lover's knot tiara. Of course, other members of the royal family also attended, such as Prince William and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall. Flip through to see all the best photos from one of the most high-profile events of the year.
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Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, and Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge, en route to Buckingham Palace to attend the Diplomatic Corps Reception.
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Queen Elizabeth II arrives at the reception.
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Kate speaks to guests with a smile. She wears a long, velvet gown by Alexander McQueen, paired with the Lover's Knot tiara from the House of Garrard. Her blue sash symbolizes her Dame Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order honor from the Queen, while her yellow brooch signifies the Royal Family Order.
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Prince William socializes with guests near Kate and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall.
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Queen Elizabeth II attended the event in an elegant Angela Kelly state gown. The embellished white dress was complemented with white gloves, silver shoes, a silver handbag, and imperial jewelry, including the Vladimir tiara featuring emerald drops and a matching necklace.
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Kate greets guests at the affair.
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The Vladimir tiara has a famous history. Queen Elizabeth II inherited the headpiece from her grandmother, Queen Mary, but it originally belonged to the Grand Duchess Maria Pavlovna of imperial Russia. During the Bolshevik Revolution in the early 1900s, the duchess and her family fled Russia, where her jewels were left hidden in a vault at the palace in St. Petersburg. British intelligence officers smuggled the jewels (including the tiara) out of the city and into the hands of the Grand Duchess's family, who subsequently sold the tiara to Queen Mary.
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Queen Mary, the tiara’s precious owner, had the headpiece outfitted to be able to swap its original pearl drops for emeralds, which Queen Elizabeth wore at yesterday's event.
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Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, wears a cream embroidered gown by Bruce Oldfield and the Boucheron tiara.
As an associate editor at HarpersBAZAAR.com, Chelsey keeps a finger on the pulse on all things celeb news. She also writes on social movements, connecting with activists leading the fight on workers' rights, climate justice, and more. Offline, she’s probably spending too much time on TikTok, rewatching Emma (the 2020 version, of course), or buying yet another corset.