Kate Middleton Glitters at 2017 Diplomatic Reception

On the 5th December 2017, Kate attended the annual Diplomatic Reception at Buckingham Palace.  The reception is the main diplomatic social event of the year in London.  It’s also the largest reception held at Buckingham Palace:

Over 1,500 people are invited from around 130 countries, including members of the British government, past Prime Ministers, the Archbishops of Canterbury and York and other public figures. — royalcollection.org.uk

Kate’s outfit:

The 2017 reception was private with no press in attendance, which makes it difficult to write about Kate’s glamorous look.  Sadly, there are only a few photos of the Duchess entering the reception by car. As such, we don’t know anything about her sparkly gown (which is a shame!).

We can see Kate wore the Pearl and Diamond earrings from Princess Diana’s personal collection.  They’re often referred to as the ‘Collingwood’ earrings, named after the jewellery company who made the earrings and sent them as a gift for Diana on her wedding day.

Kate brought back the Queen Mary’s Lover’s Knot Tiara.  People often mistake this for the Cambridge Lover’s Knot Tiara:

It’s a familiar moment. The Duchess of Cambridge arrives at a grand white-tie event at Buckingham Palace wearing a tiara made of diamonds with suspended pearls, and social media (and the press!) goes wild: “Kate’s wearing the Cambridge Lover’s Knot Tiara!”

Except — she’s not! The tiara worn by Kate — the same tiara also worn by Princess Diana, Queen Elizabeth II, and Queen Mary — is Queen Mary’s Lover’s Knot Tiara. The Cambridge Lover’s Knot Tiara is an entirely different tiara, owned by a noble family in Germany.  — The Court Jeweller

Kate’s dazzling necklace is probably a diamond collet necklace from the Queen’s collection:

Any good royal collection has at least one diamond collet necklace – a basic necklace with single round diamonds (of considerable size on their own) in a single row.  – Her Majesty’s Jewel Vault

Sadly, we don’t know too much about the necklace either:

According to Hugh Roberts in The Queen’s Diamonds, Queen Mary had 8 collet necklaces, and 2 of those were left to the Queen. […] these necklaces are devilishly hard to tell apart when in use. They can also be varied in length, as Queen Mary did. Identifications are always up for debate. – Her Majesty’s Jewel Vault