Were all of the Windsor women supposed to wear white at the French state banquet?

It’s been a minute since the Windsors have hosted a really glamorous state visit. It’s also been more than a year and a half since anyone allowed the Princess of Wales to wear a tiara and an evening gown. At the last minute on Tuesday, Kate and Prince William were confirmed to attend the state banquet for President and Madame Macron. It was staged at Windsor Castle, and the dinner seemed to off without a hitch. Soft diplomacy, tiaras, and a menu of summer salad, chicken, and “iced blackcurrant parfait on a blackcurrant-soaked sponge with elderflower jelly.”

As I went through the photos, I noticed something odd, as did many other people – it looks like all of the royal women were in white/ivory. Queen Camilla, the Duchess of Edinburgh, Princess Anne and the Duchess of Gloucester all wore white or ivory and glittering jewels and sashes. The Princess of Wales was the only royal woman in red. Do you think Camilla approved of that? The only reason I ask is because these people have made it abundantly clear that they coordinate their colors with each other, often send a message. Did Kate not get the message? Or did she not care? I also wonder how last-minute this preparation was for Kate – her Givenchy dress was new-to-us, but was it actually new-new? It would make sense if Kate threw on something she had in her closet but had never worn if she only got the invitation at the last minute. Still… Kate also has a lot of white gowns in her closet. It’s interesting.

Also interesting… while Kate was placed on Pres. Macron’s right side, the camera angles ensured that Kate was largely hidden behind an enormous centerpiece. That’s something else they would have bragged about if it had been Meghan being blocked – they crowed for months about how a candle blocked shots of Meghan at QEII’s funeral in 2022. So if that was a message, surely this is too?

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Cover Images.