Kate the Great

On wearing a great big crown and embracing life again

Hello, Gorgeous!

Last night I celebrated my birthday by ordering in and sharing a meal with my fam (there or may not have been french fries involved). The British Royal Family celebrated with a state dinner, gowns and tiaras.

The Comeback Queen

Princess Catherine (Kate, to you and me) looked breathtaking. While she usually opts for the more demure Cambridge Lovers Knot tiara, last night the Princess of Wales debuted Queen Victoria’s Oriental Circlet Tiara. This is only the fifth different tiara ever she’s worn during her tenure as an HRH. The occasion? A state banquet at Windsor Castle on December 3. But more importantly, let’s discuss the tiara and its significance.

The great big tiara (let’s face it, it’s a crown) was created for Queen Victoria by Prince Albert in 1853, and set with 2,600 diamonds. It originally featured opals, but Queen Alexandra replaced them with rubies because she found opals “unlucky.” There’s a whole folkloric history to people avoiding opals, but I won’t go into it here. Let’s instead discuss Kate’s magic moment.

Last night Kate also wore an ethereal cornflower blue Jenny Packham gown sparkling with a zillion sequins. So why am I so obsessed with her look last night? Aside from the future-queen branding inherent in everything from the color to the style to that honking big diamond headpiece, it was also symbolic of a strong woman making her way back to life.

Many of us have faced life-challenging illnesses (I know I have) and great losses (Yeah. I’ve faced those too), and life seems to freeze into an in-between place where life goes on as we stay in a place of grief and solitude. I have no doubt that Catherine faced so many of those issues, all on the world stage. And her re-entry into public life hasn’t been perfectly smooth. She stumbled a few times - who wouldn’t? But last night was Kate’s life-affirming “I am a queen, dammit,” moment, and she shone. And I for one was so happy for her. Because being a 40-something woman coming back from months of cancer treatments, the loss of a public icon who was a relative and illness of her father-in-law King Charles can’t be easy. But she faces the world in a way that showed vulnerability in the past and triumph right now. And I’m here for it.

Long may she slay.

Do you find yourself fascinated with royal fashion and/or living historical figures? Some years ago I had a (snarky) British Royal fam Insta account, but things got heated and unpleasant. Anyway, want to discuss Kate’s rhapsody in blue? Let’s meet in the comment section to discuss!

Rachel, Your beauty concierge 💋