Senior royals put on brave faces tonight as the release of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s Netflix docuseries loomed.
Putting on a united front at Buckingham Palace, the Prince and Princess of Wales joined King Charles and Queen Consort Camilla for the first Diplomatic Corps reception in three years on Tuesday.
Kate dazzled in the Lotus Flower Tiara, as the four greeted hundreds of guests at the glittering affair in the capital.
But it comes as all eyes are on Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s new show, which is seemingly threatening to make bombshell allegations on Thursday.
In trailers, Harry speaks of a ‘hierarchy in the family’ and a ‘dirty game’, warning ‘we know the full truth’.
The Royal Family’s outing this evening came hours before the Sussexes accepted an award in New York for fighting racism.
They are being given the Ripple Of Hope Award from Robert F Kennedy Human Rights (RFKHR) organisation for their racial justice and mental health work.
The event at the Palace today is the first Diplomatic Corps reception of the King’s reign and follows the Queen’s death in September.
The monarch and his family welcomed foreign ambassadors to the grand occasion in the royal residence’s state rooms.
Kate was dressed in a floor-length scarlet Jenny Packham dress decorated in sequinned flower motifs.
She wore drop diamond earrings previously belonging to Queen Elizabeth II.
The mum-of-three also sported a blue Royal Victorian Order sash and the late Queen’s Family Order, which sits on a yellow ribbon.
The princess has worn the Lotus Flower Tiara – also known as the Queen Mother’s Papyrus Tiara – previously at a diplomatic reception in 2013, and to her first state banquet in the UK in 2015.
Made of diamonds in fanned motifs crowned by floating diamond arches, it belonged to Princess Margaret.
Camilla wore the late Queen’s diamond and sapphire tiara and necklace, which she chose for the South African state banquet last month, and an Anna Valentine gown.
The late Queen was set to host the white-tie gathering in March this year at Windsor Castle, but it was postponed due to Russian’s invasion of Ukraine.
It is usually held every December, but there were no receptions in 2020 and 2021 due to the Covid pandemic.
The reception traditionally includes a buffet supper and dancing.
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