Kate & William Expected at Spain State Banquet & What Letizia Wore

We are back with a few very quick updates.

Our first topic is the Spain state visit to the UK. The most timely news is that the Duke & Duchess of Cambridge, along with Prince Harry, are expected at tonight’s state dinner in honor of Spain’s King Felipe and Queen Letizia. The official start time is shown as 20:15 (8:15), that is 3:15 EDT. This will be the first time Prince Harry has an official role for a state visit. Tomorrow he will accompany the Spanish royals to Westminster Abbey.

This is the first state visit by a Spanish king since 1986.  The day began with official welcome events at Horse Guards Parade.

From ABC News:

Prince Philip and Felipe first inspected troops at central London’s Horse Guards Parade, a former royal jousting yard.

The Monarchs then rode down the Mall on their way to Buckingham Palace. HM and the King in a state carriage.

Queen Letizia and Prince Philip.

More from ABC:

Felipe and Letizia are the first Spanish monarchs to visit Britain since Felipe’s father toured the country in the 1980s.

Both royal lines are descended from Queen Victoria. Felipe’s great-grandmother, Queen Ena of Spain, was Victoria’s youngest granddaughter. Victoria is Elizabeth’s great-great-grandmother.

As always, it was a magnificent display.

Following today’s luncheon at the Palace, everyone viewed a collection of Spanish artifacts from The Royal Collection.

The Mirror references the relationship between the two countries and an honor bestowed upon King Felipe in its coverage of today’s events:

It has been revealed that the King as been given Britain’s highest honour and made a Knight of the Garter by the Queen.

Felipe VI has become what is known as a “Stranger Knight” or “Extra Knight Companion” of the prestigious Order of the Garter.

The decision demonstrates the cordial nature of the royals’ relations with their Spanish counterparts.

The Mirror also notes those receiving this honor are chosen personally by the monarch.

The next item on the agenda, a meeting with the Prince of Wales and Duchess of Cornwall.

Followed by the trip to Whitehall for the King’s address to a joint session of Parliament.

From King Felipe’s speech:

“I take this opportunity to convey my solidarity with the British people and the solidarity of all of Spain. You can be sure of the unwavering affection of the Spanish people.

“Every terrorist attack is an attack on every one of us – because the victims belong to every one of us.

His Majesty received a standing ovation for his remarks.

Some quick notes on what Queen Letizia wore for the formal elements of the visit thus far. For today’s official welcome she wore an ensemble by one of her primary designers, Spain’s Felipe Varela.

She was in a ‘lemon ice’ tweed coat atop a darker yellow silk dress. Both pieces featured appliquéd lace trim in a floral motif at the hem.

The Queen’s hair was styled in a low bun, topped off by a hat from milliner Maria Nieto. Letizia’s heels are a style many will recognize, a nude pump. In this case, it is by Prada, a brand we have seen Kate wear frequently. More specifically, the design is the Pointy Toe Pump in nude patent leather ($670).

Her pearl drop earrings are slightly reminiscent of a style Kate wears; however, these hoops are ‘plain’ gold and the pearls are not detachable. They are also older, belonging to Queen Sofia of Spain, Letizia’s mother-in-law.

For the later engagements, the Queen displayed her skill at sartorial diplomacy, wearing Burberry’s Trench Dress.

The satin-back crepe dress showcases buckle trimmed epaulettes and a belted waist with matching buckle.

Another view.

Our thanks to Núria Tiburcio for the ID on the dress. The handbag is from Menbur, with thanks to SM Reina Letizia on Twitter for that info.

For yesterday’s departure from Madrid, the Queen was in one of her go-to labels, Hugo Boss.

She wore the Ileti top and Valeti skirt; both are past season pieces and no longer available. The Queen also wore pumps by Magrit and carried a bag by Lidia Faro.

Our thanks to Queen Letizia Style, as well as Letizia de Princesa Reina and Desvistiendo de Letizia for their ID work!

I have received a number of messages and emails asking about a What Letizia Wore blog and/or Queen Letizia style sites. Queen Letizia Style and Letizia de Princesa Reina are both terrific sites, and I am sure there are others I have neglected to mention; the fashion of Spain’s Queen is a popular topic. As far as a WLW site, we have had the What Letizia Wore URL registered since June of 2014, along with corresponding Facebook/Twitter accounts. We are talking about getting the site up and running and covering Letizia’s fashion, but need to do a little more info gathering and research before making a final decision. Stay tuned!

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Also today, ITV has released its air date for the documentary we covered previously, Diana, Our Mother: Her Life and Legacy. It will Monday, July 24 at 9 p.m. in the UK.

From ITV’s story about the broadcast:

…the film is built around contributions from HRH The Duke of Cambridge and HRH Prince Harry, both of whom talk openly about their mother and pay tribute to the many ways  her influence has shaped their lives. 

UPDATES:

• It looks like HBO will air the documentary on July 25 at 10 p.m., and it will be available on demand beginning July 25. (More info here.)
• Kirsten comments that the program will air on CBC in Canada on Wednesday, August 23. There is more info at this link she shared.

We’ll see you in just a few hours for coverage of tonight’s state banquet.

LINKAGE:

• The Daily Mail’s coverage (with 72 photos) is here; The Evening Standard’s gallery of the state visit events thus far is here; The Telegraph’s story is here; The Mirror‘s coverage is here
• PopSugar’s gallery is here; A Daily Express story on Letizia’s look today is here; People’s story is here 

If interested in Queen Letizia’s style, there are a number of recent articles/galleries that may hold appeal:

• British Vogue’s “Decoding Queen Letizia’s Style” is here
• A look at Queen Letizia’s background and style may be read in this Telegraph piece 
• The Telegraph offers a piece here on Letizia’s hair, makeup
• From The Business Insider, “The glamorous life of style icon Queen Letizia” is here
• InStyle has 35 photos of “Letizia’s Captivating Style” viewable here