The Princess of Wales wore Queen Mary’s Lover’s Knot Tiara for the first time in 2026 at a state banquet for Nigeria’s president at Windsor Castle. Earlier, she welcomed President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and First Lady Oluremi Tinubu in a coat by British-Nigerian designer Tolu Coker.
On March 18, 2026, the Princess of Wales, Kate Middleton, participated in events during the visit of Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and First Lady Oluremi Tinubu to Windsor Castle. In the afternoon, she wore a grey and white double-breasted coat from Tolu Coker’s fall 2024 collection while greeting the visitors. Coker, a British-Nigerian designer who launched her label in 2018, received early support from The Prince’s Trust. King Charles III had attended her fall 2026 London Fashion Week show front row earlier in the year. The choice highlights Kate’s patronage of British design, alongside staples like McQueen and Catherine Walker, amid recent engagements such as hosting the English Red Roses and St Patrick’s Day with the Irish Guards, as well as activities at Borough market. At the evening state banquet, Kate debuted her first tiara look of 2026: Queen Mary’s Lover’s Knot Tiara, a favorite known for its diamonds and pearls set in silver and gold. Commissioned in 1913 from the House of Garrard as a replica of her grandmother’s Cambridge Lover’s Knot Tiara, it passed to Queen Elizabeth, who loaned it to Princess Diana, one of whose favorites despite its weight causing headaches. Kate paired it with a bespoke chiffon forest green gown by Andrew Gn, a Jenny Peckham silver clutch, and Queen Elizabeth’s sapphire tassel earrings. The green hue matches Nigeria’s flag, continuing a theme after her Tolu Coker coat from the day before.
