It's been a busy past couple of days for the Prince and Princess of Wales. Together with King Charles and Queen Camilla, the royal couple welcomed Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and First Lady Oluremi Tinubu on a two-day state visit. And, naturally, Princess Catherine spoke volumes with her sartorial choices. There was the unexpectedly sultry frock coat she wore for the official procession to Windsor Castle. Her state banquet gown echoed the green in Nigeria's flag, which she paired with her favorite tiara. But when the duo dropped a portrait from the event on their Instagram, my eyes instantly zeroed in on Kate's mysterious brooch.
Prince William and Kate Middleton Share Stunning Portrait—But My Eyes Went Straight to Her Brooch
It's actually *very* significant
Published Mar 20, 2026
•4:57pm
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Admittedly, I had been distracted by all the photos of the Princess of Wales' tiara. Not only was it her first tiara occasion of the year, but it's also an old favorite: Lover's Knot Tiara, AKA the Cambridge Lover's Knot. The design, created for Queen Mary by the House of Garrard in 1914, is inspired by the original Cambridge Lover's Knot that belonged to her grandmother, Princess Augusta of Hesse. It is believed to be held in a private collection.
After some sleuthing, I discovered that Princess Kate's brooch wasn't quite a brooch, but rather something even more significant: Royal Family Order of King Charles III.
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According to Town & Country, a royal order is award to senior women in the family to recognize their service to the monarch. Queen Camilla first debuted King Charles' royal order in 2024, quietly pinning it onto her sash next to the royal order she had been awarded by Queen Elizabeth II in 2007.
While the late Queen opted for a light yellow ribbon, King Charles modeled his royal order after his great-grandfather, George V's. As seen on the Princess of Wales, the Royal Family Order of King Charles III features a light blue ribbon on which sits his portrait.
Town & Country explains that the King commissioned former president of the Royal Society of Miniature Painters, Elizabeth Meek, to paint the miniature. She had previously painted King Charles as Prince of Wales in Highgrove in 2005. The portrait sits in an oval frame, encrusted with diamonds.
