HM, the Duke of Edinburgh, t he Duke and Duchess of Cornwall, the Prime Minister, Senior members of the Cabinet, the Lord Mayor of London, the Mayor of London, and Defence Chiefs of Staff welcome President Xi and Madame Peng. Below you see the Band of the Household Cavalry, part of the morning’s ceremonies. The sun was shining on the Mall for the official welcome of President of The People’s Republic of China and Madame Peng Liyuan, an event heralded with the pomp and pageantry associated with a state visit. This is William’s second meeting with the President, you may recall the Duke visited China in March of this year. Prince William had seen President Xi earlier in the day, meeting with him at Buckingham Palace. (No pressure here.)Īnd other elements of the evening’s plan. HM inspecting the evening’s floral arrangements. Below, Palace preparations for the evening’s meal.Īs always, the amount of preparation that goes into a function like tonight’s is mammoth. That translates into filet or turbot, venison from Balmoral, timbale of celeriac and butternut squash. Among the blooms was a Sophie, Countess of Wessex clematis variety – her husband, Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex, was among the guests. The magnificent ballroom had been decked out in splendid royal style for the 130 guests, including floral arrangements of white roses, pink carnations and clematis that originated in China. From left to right you see the Duchess, president Xi, Her Majesty, the Duke of Edinburgh, Madame Peng and Prince William.Ī closer look at Madame Peng and Prince William in this BBC screengrab via The Daily Mail.įrom People magazine’s story about tonight’s dinner: It was a magnificent scene at Buckingham Palace. She was seated in the most prominent position for a female member of the royal family after the Queen – on the President’s right while the monarch, as is custom, sat on Mr Xi’s left. We return to The Telegraph’s story for more on Kate’s position at the table: The Queen has worn this “suite” of jewelry many times over the years. The necklace, which was made in 1850, was a wedding gift from her father, King George VI. The diamond and sapphire tiara was commissioned by the monarch in either the 1950s/60S to be worn with the necklace of sapphires and diamonds she paired it with last night, a Buckingham Palace source tells PEOPLE. The Royal Order of Splendor notes HM was wearing the Modern Sapphire Tiara tonight. The monarch, resplendant in a white tulle banquet dress embroidered with white and silver beads and diamanté sequins by Angela Kelly, made a speech welcoming the guests of honour. More on Her Majesty’s gown from Hello! Canada: It was also the Duke of Cambridge’s first state banquet in the UK. Guests stand for the national anthem, as seen in this screengrab from The Telegraph’s live coverage of the event.įour-and-a-half years after she became an HRH, Kate made her first appearance at what is considered a staple royal duty – dining in the opulent palace ballroom with 170 guests in honour of a visiting president.
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