The King and Queen welcomed Japan’s Emperor Naruhito and his wife Empress Masako in style for a state banquet at Buckingham Palace on Tuesday night.
With the Palace decked in peonies and sweet peas, guests including Sir Keir Starmer, Lord Cameron, Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey and Prime Minister Rishi Sunak filed in. The night’s dress code blended white tie with summer colour – a mix of ballgowns and kimonos.
A micro-trend of the evening was capes: Kemi Badenoch, the Business Secretary, and Lady Victoria Starmer wore black and white cloaked dresses, respectively. The Empress wore a white lace floor-length gown with cropped sleeves.
But it was Queen Camilla’s look that was perhaps the most loaded with meaning – she honoured a now decades-old tradition of diplomatically nodding to her guests via her sartorial choices. She wore a white embroidered silk crepe gown by Fiona Clare, one of her go-to British couturiers and carried a silver clutch bag. She also wore the Burmese Ruby Tiara – a piece she has worn once before, in November 2023. The tiara has a beautiful and personal story; it was one of just two tiaras that Queen Elizabeth II designed for herself. In 1973, the late Queen commissioned Garrard to dismantle two wedding gifts she had received asking that they be turned into the one magnificent piece.
Choosing a tiara that, firstly, matches the colours of the Japanese flag, and secondly, which was a favourite of the late Queen, will have surely pleased tonight’s guests.
The state banquet was set to be the jewel in a tour that has taken the Emperor and Empress sightseeing visiting the Thames Barrier, paying respects to the late Queen Elizabeth II in St George’s Chapel, and on a trip back to Oxford University, where both studied.
Ahead of his visit, the Emperor had shared fond memories of his visits to the UK in the 1980s, including how he once had a barbecue with Queen Elizabeth II. He described being “welcomed with warmth [by the Queen and Prince Philip] as if I were their family member.”
Relations between the UK and Japan have been similarly jovial throughout history, and have been routinely underscored by diplomatic and fun fashion choices. The late Queen impressed on her visit to Tokyo in 1975, when she wore a turquoise Norman Hartnell dress embellished with a cherry blossom applique, and also a coat which matched the colours of the Japanese flag.
Her decision to wear a lilac suit for her arrival in the Japanese capital was considered particularly respectful and newsworthy at the time. The suit’s designer, Hardy Amies, recalled in his autobiography, Still Here, how the apparent diplomatic dressing strategy had happened. “‘Imperial colours,’ said the Japanese,’” he recalled, ‘“How flattering to us!’... I had no idea that mauve was an imperial colour, but I shouldn’t be surprised if the Queen had known.”
Princess Diana, meanwhile, made her own mark in 1986. She too used fashion as a communication tool and wore a red polka-dot dress to represent the country’s rising sun motif to attend a traditional tea ceremony at Nijo Castle, Kyoto, and added a peach kimono – much to the delight of her hosts and the waiting photographers.
Both the Queen and Empress Masako had worn white earlier in the day, too, sharing a carriage ride for a welcoming procession along The Mall.
As per tradition, the hosts and the visitors exchanged gifts – the Queen was given a handbag made from Saga Nishiki brocade fabric. Something to bring out on the next state visit, certainly.
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