All Signs Point to This Being the Next Time We'll See Kate Middleton in a Tiara

It's been more than a year since we've last seen Princess Kate in a glittering tiara, and for good reason. The Princess of Wales has been recovering from cancer since she announced her diagnosis in March, and she was forced to miss a state banquet in June due to her chemotherapy treatments. But on Friday, Oct. 11, Buckingham Palace announced an exciting event on the royal calendar.

King Charles III and Queen Camilla will host a state visit for the Amir of Qatar, His Highness Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, and his wife, Her Highness Sheikha Jawaher bint Hamad bin Suhaim Al Thani, on Dec. 3 and 4.

You might be wondering what this has to do with tiaras, but bear with me. During an official state visit, the palace hosts a glittering banquet, and members of the Royal Family break out their best tuxedos, gowns and jewels. You got it, that means it's tiara time.

Royal historian Jessica Storoschuk of An Historian About Town tells Marie Claire that December's banquet is something the royal "may be hoping to attend" since she had to miss June's Japanese state visit.

"Given that she is wife of the heir and typically an involved senior royal, she will most likely attend if she is medically able to," Storoschuk noted.

While the princess has slowly been easing back into royal duties this fall—visiting with families of three girls who were killed in a tragic knife attack this week and meeting with a teenage cancer patient earlier in the month—the Princess of Wales has been clear that she would take on engagements when she feels up to it.

"Throughout her marriage, Catherine has shown that she understands the soft power of more formal events like state dinners, and that includes the glamour of a gown and tiara," Storoschuk tells Marie Claire. That being said, the royal has worn a number of standout tiaras during state banquets over the years.

The Princess of Wales attended her first such banquet in 2015—which was held to honor China's president, Xi Jinping—wearing a gorgeous red Jenny Packham ballgown in honor of the scarlet-hued Chinese flag. The event also marked the first time she was seen wearing a tiara since her 2011 wedding, with the royal choosing the Lotus Flower Tiara to honor an important symbol in Chinese culture.

Since then, she's gone on to attend five other state banquets, and for her most recent appearance—at a 2023 event honoring South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and First Lady Kim Keon Hee—the Princess of Wales shocked royal fans by bringing a 100-year-old tiara out of the archives.

She wore the Queen Mother's diamond Strathmore Rose tiara to the glamorous dinner, making the Princess of Wales only the second royal to ever wear the piece, which hadn't been since since the 1930s.

Will we see Princess Kate at December's banquet? Only time will tell. But in the meantime, I'll be dreaming about which tiara she might break out next.