The annual event, which takes place on December 11, will round off Her Majesty’s official engagements for the year. The Queen will host a glamorous reception at Buckingham Palace for Government officials including ambassadors and high commissioners to the UK, along with senior members of the royal family. As the dress code is White Tie, royal fans can expect to see Kate wearing her favourite tiara.

The Cambridge Lover’s Knot tiara is an heirloom headpiece that the Queen inherited from her grandmother Queen Mary, before giving it to Princess Diana as a wedding present in 1981.

Kate has worn the tiara several times since becoming a royal, including at last year’s reception, where she wore a silvery blue gown by Jenny Packham, one of her favourite designers.

Many fans suspect that she wears the tiara as a sweet tribute to her late mother-in-law, Diana.

The Duchess last wore the tiara at the state banquet for the US President Donald Trump.

That evening she stole the limelight in her long white Alexander McQueen gown, which was accompanied by her blue, red and white sash of the Victorian order.

The order was presented to her by the Queen to mark her and William’s eighth wedding anniversary.

In total, Kate has only been seen wearing a tiara on 10 occasions, including on her wedding day in 2011.

At her marriage she wore a scroll tiara, featuring 49 baguette-cut diamonds as well as 739 brilliant cut diamonds and was estimated to be worth between £750k and £1.2 million.

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By way of comparison, the Duchess of Sussex wore a Cartier crown at her wedding with an art deco bandeau of diamonds, valued at more than £2 million.

However, the most extravagant and spectacular tiara adorned the head of Princess Eugenie, when she married Jack Brooksbank in 2018.

The 93.70 carats cabochon emerald tiara, which was hand made by Boucheron in 1919, was borrowed from her grandmother the Queen and was valued at a steady £10 million.

The tiara, though, is more than a luxury item of jewellery, and possesses a symbolic meaning, which helps to explain why royal observers are yet to glimpse Princess Beatrice wearing one.

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In an interview with Town and Country jewellery expert Geoffrey Munn explained the tiara’s hidden meaning.

He said: “Any woman may wear one, but ancient tradition has it that they must be a bride or already married.

“The tiara has its roots in classical antiquity and was seen as an emblem of the loss of innocence to the crowning of love.

“One of the mainstays of European royalty and aristocracy is to do what you have always done and formal dress, jewellery, and tiaras are just part of this.”

Mr Mann revealed that tiaras were never seen as emblems of inherited rank, although they were among the largest and most imposing pieces of jewellery.

He elaborated: ”It is not the owner that triggers the wearing of tiaras but the event at which they are worn.

“In the past they were worn at full evening dress occasions, which are now know as ‘white tie.’

“Sometimes the invitation would say ‘Tiaras will be worn. This is virtually over now.

“Correct form decreed that they were never worn at hotels. That too has fallen by the wayside.”

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