Kate dazzles in diamonds as she attends banquet hosted by King Charles for South Korean President and First Lady
21 November 2023, 22:22 | Updated: 21 November 2023, 22:32
Princess Kate dazzled in diamonds this evening as she attended a state banquet hosted by King Charles and Queen Camilla for the South Korean President and First Lady.
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Both the Queen and the Princess of Wales stepped out in glittering royal tiaras they had never worn in public before.
Kate was seen in the Queen Mother's Strathmore Rose Tiara, while Queen Camilla wore the late Queen Elizabeth II's ruby and diamond Burmese tiara
Tonight's banquet represented the start of a three-day state visit to the UK by South Korea's President Yoon Suk Yeol and his wife Kim Keon Hee.
In his banquet speech, King Charles praised South Korea's culture and its "remarkable ability to captivate imaginations".
A number of high-profile guests turned out for the state banquet, hosted at Buckingham Palace, including Prime Minister Rishi Sunak.
Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron was also at the banquet, sat near Princess Anne.
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Leader of the Labour Party, Sir Keir Starmer, was present, as was the Liberal Democrats leader, Sir Ed Davey.
K-pop girl band Blackpink were also among the guests, with the King referencing the iconic Korean pop scene in his speech.
Charles name checked Blackpink, as well as BTS - one of the most popular K-pop groups.
King Charles said in his speech: "From fridges and flatscreens to smartphones and semiconductors, it is clear that the model of industrial efficiency I glimpsed in Seoul thirty years ago has become the epitome of technological creativity today.
"But it is probably artistic creativity which has brought about the most dramatic shift in Korea’s place in the British cultural landscape.
"Three decades ago, it would have been hard to imagine that the most popular exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum in 2023 would be Hallyu, showcasing the Korean Wave, or that Korean would become the fastest-growing modern language among those studied at British universities.
"Korea has matched Danny Boyle with Bong Joon-ho, James Bond with Squid Game, and the Beatles’ Let It Be with BTS’s Dynamite.
"Our cultures share a remarkable ability to captivate imaginations across the world, transforming a so-called soft power into a shared superpower.
"I fear, though, that I am unlikely ever to follow in King Sejong’s footsteps and create a whole new alphabet!"
