Kate Middleton Just Wore A Stunning Tiara — & It Used To Belong To Princess Diana

The Duchess of Cambridge arrived at a state banquet at Buckingham Palace on Tues. wearing a striking Alexander McQueen gown and a familiar accessory. Despite how often she wears it, Kate Middleton's tiara dazzles every time. The royal is sporting her late mother-in-law Princess Diana's Queen Mary's Lover's Knot once again in one of her most stunning looks yet.

Prince William and Kate dressed to the nines to greet King Willem-Alexander and Queen Maxima of the Netherlands at a state banquet in London on Oct. 23, the first day of the guests' two-day stay in the U.K. The Duchess wore a light-blue, mermaid-cut Alexander McQueen gown with a dainty floral embellishment. But as spectacular as the dress was, the jewels were even better.

Middleton wore an ornate diamond-and-pearl necklace that originally belonged to Princess Alexandra more than a century ago. The late Danish Princess wore the sparkling necklace to celebrate her wedding in 1863. Her Collingwood Pearl Drop Earrings were once Princess Diana's, as was that striking tiara.

It isn't often that the mom-of-three wears a tiara, but she seems rather partial to this one when she does. The headpiece is a copy of the Cambridge Lover's Knot and Middleton has worn it four times. The tiara was made in 1914 for Queen Mary and was passed down to her granddaughter Queen Elizabeth II in 1953. Princess Diana wore the piece several times — during an appearance in Italy in 1985, with her famous white sequin dress in 1989, and for the last time in 1991.

It wasn't until 2015 that the Duchess pulled it from the vault again for an annual Diplomatic Reception at Buckingham Palace, and she wore it again to the same event the following year. The last time she wore the jewels was during a state banquet with King Felipe and Queen Letizia of Spain in 2017. On Tues., it was time for the tiara's annual cameo.

Middleton has worn a tiara only eight times since marrying into the royal family. The first time was, of course, on the day of her wedding, when she wore a Cartier tiara encrusted with 1,000 diamonds. She has also worn the iconic Lotus Flower Tiara twice.

Tiaras are tradition for state banquets, but not so much for state dinners, which is perhaps why Meghan Markle didn't sport one to her own event in Fiji on the same night. While the royals of the Netherlands visited Buckingham Palace, Prince Harry and the Duchess of Sussex attended a state dinner hosted by the King of Fiji, and Markle opted against wearing a headpiece of any kind.

The 37-year-old mom-to-be did, however, recently wear Princess Diana's butterfly earrings during the first day of the couple's royal tour of the Southern Hemisphere, likely as an homage to her late mother-in-law in light of the announcement that she's pregnant. You can expect to see a lot more tiara action to come with a new royal in the house, too. So far, Markle has only worn the traditional headpiece once, the Queen Mary Diamond Bandeau on her wedding day in May.