The Princess of Wales Chooses Sarah Burton for Givenchy at State Dinner

The Princess of Wales chose a Sarah Burton for Givenchy evening gown for this evening’s state dinner.

The dinner honors French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife, Brigitte Macron, as they wrap up day one of their three-day visit to the United Kingdom. Buckingham Palace shared a video of the King and Queen inspecting the arrangements before the banquet. The visit is being hosted at Windsor Castle due to the ongoing renovation work at Buckingham Palace.

✨ Final preparations are taking place ahead of this evening’s State Banquet in St George’s Hall, Windsor Castle. pic.twitter.com/timKDXAi8i

— The Royal Family (@RoyalFamily) July 8, 2025

More on the setting, St. George’s Hall, from this Express article. 

The banquet looked different from the ones held in the Ballroom of Buckingham Palace. Instead of sitting in a horseshoe shape, guests were seated either side of an impressive 50-meter mahogany table.

The highly polished table, which reflected the coats of arms decorating the arched ceiling above, is the longest table in the country and castle staff started assembling it last Wednesday. Instead of sitting on the same side of the table, the King and Queen sat opposite one another in the centre.

And from The Independent’s coverage. 

The impressive St George’s Hall is the largest room in the castle at 55.5 metres long (180ft) and nine metres wide (29.5ft), and the 50 metre (164ft) table stretches its full length. 

The hall’s gothic style ceiling with impressive oak beam roof is studded with the coats of arms of every single Knight of the Garter since the order was founded in 1348. Its walls and ceiling were decimated in the Windsor Castle fire of 1992 and had to be painstakingly rebuilt.

The Mirror reports: “Flowers adorning the tables have been picked from the gardens of Buckingham Palace, Windsor Castle and Windsor Great Park. After the banquet, they will be delivered to hospices and care homes for the elderly.” 

The King, Queen, President Macron, and Mrs. Macron as they are about to head into dinner.  

The Prince and Princess of Wales. This is the first state banquet the Princess has attended since November 2023, when the Royal Family honoured South Korea with a state dinner.

The Duke and Duchess of Edinburgh. 

The Princess Royal and her husband, Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence. 

The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester are celebrating their 53rd wedding anniversary today.

Here is a video showing attendees as they walked into the dinner. You may note the red, white, and blue theme in the gowns worn by the Royal Family and Mrs. Macron. 

The arrival of Their Majesties at the French State Banquet pic.twitter.com/CWCCmWNOrp

— Daniel J. Devane 🇬🇧 (@DanielJDevane) July 8, 2025

Below, a view of the hall as guests were seated. 
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President Macron was seated between the King and the Princess of Wales, while Mrs. Macron sat between the Queen and Prince of Wales on the opposite side of the table. 
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Another view of the Princess, President Macron, and King Charles.  
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More on some of tonight’s other guests via ITV’s story.

Sir Elton John and Sir Mick Jagger topped the star-studded guest list for the white-tie banquet held in honour of French President Emmanuel Macron and his wife Brigitte.

The Rocket Man singer was joined by his husband, David Furnish, while the Rolling Stones’ frontman was accompanied by his fiancée Melanie Hamrick.

On the Duchess of Gloucester’s left, Sir Elton John, and husband David Furnish.

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Mick Jagger and Melanie Hamrick.
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King Charles delivered remarks.
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The BBC has more on his speech. 

After an initial welcome to Windsor Castle to the Macrons spoken in French, King Charles says much has happened since his royal tour of France in 2023, and that the UK and France “have stood ever closer since then”. He speaks of “a thousand years of shared history and culture between our two peoples” and mentions the Royal Family’s personal connections to France.

The King ticked off a series of cultural references that brought together France and Britain – such as the French Impressionist painter Monet depicting scenes in London, Jane Birkin performing in French and Thierry Henry scoring goals for Arsenal. 

French President Macron also made formal remarks. 
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We return to the BBC’s live blog, which is covering the event.   

…he begins by thanking King Charles for welcoming himself and his wife to Windsor Castle. “A sign of your great courtesy and a testament to your friendship with France,” he says.

Macron also alternates between French and English during his speech. 

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And from The Telegraph’s piece. 

He also spoke warmly of the late Elizabeth II, repeating his words after her death to tell the Royal family and British guests: “To you, she was your Queen; to us, she was The Queen.”

There were toasts.
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More about tonight’s menu from this Times of London piece. 

For starters, the chef Raymond Blanc has prepared a selection of tender summer vegetables with sage, raw tomato and extra virgin olive oil dressing. This will be followed by a supreme of Rhug Estate chicken with Norfolk asparagus and tarragon cream, and an iced blackcurrant-soaked sponge with elderflower jelly.

A bespoke cocktail for the occasion has also been created in honour of the Entente Cordiale. L’entente mixes British gin with lemon curd and French pastis, with a sprinkling of English roses and French cornflowers on top.

The Telegraph reports, “After dinner, port and cognac from the years of the King and president’s respective births will be served to guests, including Dame Kristen Scott Thomas.” Guests moved from St. George’s Hall to the Music Room after dinner for a concert by the BBC National Orchestra of Wales.

Now, for a quick rundown of some of the ensembles worn tonight, beginning with the Queen. She wore an embroidered ivory silk and crepe evening gown by Fiona Clare, accompanied by the Belgian Sapphire Tiara, a sapphire bracelet, and a sapphire necklace given to Queen Elizabeth by her father, King George VI. The glittering gems are part of Queen Elizabeth II’s sapphire suite. The Court Jeweller reports that the sapphire earrings are from the Queen’s personal collection.

She also wore the relatively new Royal Family Order of Charles III, the red French Legion of Honor sash, and the Garter Star. Below, a closer look at the family order.

More from this Scotland Herald story. 

Family Orders badges are worn at formal evening occasions by female members of the royal family and personally bestowed by the sovereign, and are a sign of the importance of the wearer within the royal household. 

His miniature portrait is painted on a synthetic material called polymin, rather than on ivory as was the tradition, and the diamonds are spare ones – existing loose jewels from the Royal Collection rather than newly acquired.

Charles personally selected the pale blue colour of the ribbon which is based on the bow on the Family Order of his great-grandfather King George V.

Brigitte Macron chose a sapphire blue gown with caped shoulders and oversized rhinestone or crystal button detailing at the shoulders for tonight’s dinner. I do not know the designer, but I will update the post if I learn anything more.

The Duchess of Edinburgh was in the Delphine dress by Suzannah London, with her aquamarine tiara, and shoes by Emmy London.
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And now for the Princess of Wales, in a bespoke gown by Sarah Burton for Givenchy, seen here in a photo released by Kensington Palace just ahead of tonight’s dinner.

The dress was described as “a dark red silk creponne gathered evening gown, with caped back detailing, designed by Sarah Burton for Givenchy.” Silk creponne is defined as “a type of lightweight, diaphanous silk featured by lengthwise wrinkles” on this site. Below, another view of the gown, showing the layers and flow of the skirt, a round neckline with pleats, and an applied waistband.

Thoughts on tonight’s look from this British Vogue piece. 

The Princess of Wales’s choice of Sarah Burton for Givenchy is a clear statement of fashion diplomacy: a design by a British woman for a French fashion house, it serves as a sartorial symbol of the symbiotic relationship between the two European countries. Earlier today, Kate wore Dior to welcome the Macrons to the UK – the first time we’ve seen her wearing the French heritage house for a public outing.

Dressing the Princess for the state banquet is one of the highest profile moments thus far for Burton during her tenure as Givenchy’s creative director. Her appointment was announced in September 2024 and she showed her debut collection for the house in March 2025.

The Princess’s evening bag, a hard-sided clutch with a Lily of the Valley motif, was also by Givenchy.

The Princess returned to her favorite tiara, the Lover’s Knot, created in 1913 by Garrard for Queen Mary, with its elegant arches and drop-shaped pearls suspended as pendants.

The Princess also wore the Greville Diamond Chandelier Earrings this evening, created by Cartier.

The Court Jeweller offers more in this piece about the earrings. 

The diamond and platinum earrings were made by Cartier in London over a period of years, starting in 1918 and ending in 1929. Initially they were a simple pair of brilliant drop earrings. In 1922, they were lengthened using twelve additional diamonds. The earrings were completed in their present form in February 1929, when ten more diamonds were added.

The Royal Collection notes that each earring features “a lexicon of modern diamond cuts.” These include a trio of pair-shaped diamond pendants, plus diamonds in baguette, baton, emerald, half-moon, trapeze, and square cuts. The ultimate effect is that of a modern girandole or chandelier earring, a technical and unique take on an earring shape that has been popular for centuries.

The earrings were a favorite of the late Queen Elizabeth II. Below, the Queen wearing the earrings during a July 2010 visit to Canada.

The Princess first wore the earrings for the June 2023 royal wedding in Jordan.

The Princess wore them again for the December 2023 diplomatic reception. As you most likely noticed, on both occasions, they were paired with the Lover’s Knot tiara. 

The Princess also wore the Royal Family Orders of both King Charles III and Queen Elizabeth II, as well as the Nigel Milne triple-strand pearl bracelet, which initially belonged to Diana, Princess of Wales. The second and third photos seen below are from previous occasions, not tonight’s dinner. I have not been able to license terrific close-ups from the banquet tonight, unfortunately.

And the Princess wore the Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order, and the GCVO sash and star, also shown when worn on previous engagements. 

On her sash, the Princess wore the Rosette of the French National Order of Merit, awarded by President Emmanuel Macron. 

If you haven’t seen today’s earlier post showcasing the Princess’s Dior separates, this link will take you there. 

VIDEOS: 

The Royal Family Channel offers 5+ minutes of coverage from tonight’s dinner. 

 Sky News has almost 35 minutes of coverage in this video.