Windsor Castle put on its finest on Tuesday evening for Sultan Haitham bin Tarik of Oman, whose three-day state visit is the first by an Omani ruler since Sultan Qaboos came to Britain in March 1982. With Buckingham Palace still in the middle of a long renovation, the King and Queen hosted the state banquet in St George’s Hall, and the evening was as much about craftsmanship and heirlooms as it was about diplomacy.
A table fifty metres long
Around 160 guests sat along a single table of roughly 50 metres, laid with 480 knives, 480 forks and 160 spoons. Vanity Fair Italia reports that the household spent four days preparing the room and used pieces from the Grand Service, the vast silver-gilt dining collection commissioned by George IV. For the first time, the salt dishes were lightly marked with the King’s own cypher.
The centrepiece, between the King and the Sultan, was a twelve-light candelabrum showing St George and the dragon, ordered by William IV in 1833. Around its base sat pomegranates picked at Windsor from a tree that the late Duke of Edinburgh planted on the East Terrace about half a century ago; a warm summer meant an unusually generous crop. The flowers, including roses, dahlias and hydrangeas, came from the Buckingham Palace gardens, and a drink inspired by Omani kahwa, the coffee spiced with cardamom and rose, nodded to the guest of honour.
The tiaras came out
For royal jewellery fans, state banquets are the main event. The Princess of Wales chose a flowing buttercup-yellow gown by Elie Saab and her most-worn headpiece, Queen Mary’s Lover’s Knot Tiara. Made by Garrard for Queen Mary shortly before the First World War, with diamonds and drop pearls, it was later a favourite of Diana, Princess of Wales. According to Vogue and People, the Princess added Queen Mary’s diamond choker bracelet, earrings that once belonged to Queen Elizabeth II and the Royal Victorian Order sash and star.
Queen Camilla wore the Girls of Great Britain and Ireland Tiara, long associated with the late Queen. The Princess Royal stayed loyal to the Meander Tiara, and the Duchess of Gloucester brought the evening’s only colour with the Honeysuckle Tiara and its pink kunzite centre stone. Earlier in the day, a small display for the Sultan even included a tiara that Oman gave to Queen Victoria for her coronation in 1838.
A sunny yellow gown and old diamonds is a pairing worth borrowing. For a similar glow, look at our citrine earrings and citrine pendants, add sparkle at the wrist with our bracelets, or echo that soft pink kunzite with morganite pendants. Coordinated looks are easiest with our jewellery sets.
Sources: Vanity Fair Italia (20 October 2026); Vogue (20 October 2026); People (20 October 2026); Town & Country (20 October 2026); The Telegraph (20 October 2026). Featured image: AI-generated illustration.
