Why The King and Queen Invited Stanley Tucci, David Beckham and Helen Mirren to a Glitzy Royal Dinner

An unlikely cast of characters was welcomed to the table at Highgrove House on Friday, Feb. 7 when King Charles and Queen Camilla hosted a star-studded dinner—but bringing everyone from Stanley Tucci to Victoria and David Beckham together for a royal meal isn't quite as random as it sounds.

The King and Queen are heading on a tour of Italy this spring, and to commemorate their upcoming trip, Their Majesties joined the Italian Ambassador to the U.K., Inigo Lambertini, and his wife, Maria Grazia Lambertini, along with Tucci, to host a "celebration of slow food and slow fashion," per Buckingham Palace.

King Charles—long a champion of sustainable farming and organic cooking—turned to world-renowned chef Francesco Mazzei for the menu. The palace noted that Mazzei was inspired by Italian-American actor Tucci, who hosts National Geographic's Tucci: The Heart of Italy series.

The dinner was created "using entirely British ingredients blended with Italian culinary traditions and local flavors," per Buckingham Palace, and the event aimed "to fully embody the principles of slow food."

Guests from the fashion industry included Donatella Versace and Victoria Beckham, along with David Beckham, who serves as an ambassador for The King's Foundation. Posh and Bex recently attended another glitzy royal event, having been invited to December's Qatari state banquet at Buckingham Palace.

Helen Mirren, who has been a longtime supporter of King Charles's charity The King's Trust (formerly known as The Prince's Trust), was also in attendance (and wearing a gorgeous emerald green lace gown).

During the event, students and graduates from The King’s Foundation training program provided demonstrations on their work in sustainable fashion and traditional heritage skills such as embroidery, furniture marking and millinery.

"Good food brings people together and what we choose to eat helps to define us—as families, communities and nations," King Charles said during the event. "It is a thing of beauty, 'edible art,' as you have put it, Stanley!"

However, The King added the evening was "about more than that: how we produce our food, and indeed our fashion, and how we source it is intimately entwined with the very future of our planet, and our ability to continue living on it sustainably."