The royal court of the United Kingdom turned Windsor Castle into a glittering stage on a recent autumn evening, welcoming Sultan Haitham bin Tariq Al Said of Oman. King Charles III and Queen Camilla presided over a formal banquet that combined ceremony, haute couture and a clear diplomatic signal in support of Oman’s efforts to keep the Strait of Hormuz open.
Tiara-filled elegance and heirloom jewels
All invited women adhered to a white-tie dress code that explicitly called for tiaras. The Princess of Wales chose her beloved Lover’s Knot Tiara, while Princess Anne returned to the historic Princess Andrew Meander Tiara. The Duchess of Gloucester dazzled in the Gloucester Honeysuckle Tiara, and Queen Camilla paid homage to the late Queen Elizabeth II by wearing the iconic Girls of Britain and Ireland Tiara. Beyond the headpieces, Camilla added a pair of amethyst earrings that once belonged to the Duchess of Kent and a striking amethyst necklace that appears to be a new addition to the royal collection.
Perhaps the most talked-about accessories were two art-deco Cartier bracelets that trace back to the 1920s. Originally purchased by the Queen Mother during her time as Duchess of York, the bracelets feature a mix of diamonds with sapphires, emeralds and rubies. Over the decades the pieces have been worn by Queen Elizabeth II on several high-profile occasions, including the 2019 Diplomatic Reception at Buckingham Palace. In recent years Camilla has matched each bracelet to the colour of her outfit: emeralds with a green dress at a Shakespeare celebration in 2024, rubies with a scarlet gown for the Qatar banquet, sapphires for a 2025 Highgrove event, and a diamond-ruby set for a 2026 Washington state banquet.
The ceremony and its diplomatic overtone
After an initial greeting in London, the Sultan travelled with Prince William to Windsor, where he was received on the Royal Dais on Dachet Road. A traditional royal salute fired from Home Park and the Tower of London announced his arrival. A guard of honour performed a salute in the castle’s Quadrangle while the Omani and British national anthems resonated from a regimental band. Following a brief inspection of the Guard, the party—King Charles, Queen Camilla, the Prince and Princess of Wales, Princess Anne, Sir Timothy Laurence, and the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester—watched a military parade before moving to a luncheon in the State Dining Room.
The main highlight was the dinner in St George’s Hall, attended by roughly 150 esteemed guests. King Charles delivered a speech that blended English and Arabic, lauding Oman’s “noble efforts” to keep one of the world’s most critical shipping lanes, the Strait of Hormuz, open. He highlighted a joint project between Prince William and the Sultan’s son, Sayyid Theyazin, as a symbol of inter-generational cooperation. The menu featured roast Windsor pheasant with spiced quince, a croute of Scottish langoustine and Cornish crab, and a dessert of baked Alaska with Balmoral plum ice cream. In keeping with the Sultan’s faith, the traditional alcoholic cocktail was replaced by a spiced, non-alcoholic coffee.
Later, the Sultan was scheduled to meet Prime Minister Andy Burnham at Downing Street, where the two leaders were expected to sign a deal aimed at generating more than £1 billion of new investment between the United Kingdom and Oman.
