Kate Middleton has never been one to shy away from wearing her heart on her sleeve. From sharing personal photographs of her three children to opening up about the isolation of motherhood, the Duchess of Cambridge continues to show the importance of being relatable and transparent in her role as a royal.
However, last night during a State Banquet for the King and Queen of the Netherlands at Buckingham Palace, the mother-of-three took the opportunity to show the world the how crucial it is to also support your significant other and their beliefs. Better yet, she did so with her fashion accessories.
Wearing a sculpted blue Alexander McQueen gown and a Lover's Knot tiara (previously owned by Princess Diana), the royal accessorised her look with a contrasting metallic brooch on a yellow ribbon, worn over her heart.
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However, rather than made of its usual ivory, Kate's cameo brooch was constructed of glass, which will have meant a lot to her husband, Prince William, and his supporters.
According to Majesty magazine, Kate's glass brooch was worn in honour of the Duke of Cambridge's continued campaigning for a ban on ivory.
Following years working in his role as a patron of Tusk Trust (an organisation initiating and funding wildlife conservation), Environment Secretary Michael Gove announced in April that the UK would be installing a ‘tough ban’ on ivory sales, in order to protect and preserve rhinos and elephants in the future.
The move was of great importance to William (and his children), who said at the time: 'When I was born, there were one million elephants roaming Africa. By the time my daughter Charlotte was born last year [2015], the numbers of savannah elephants had crashed to just 350,000.
'And at the current pace of illegal poaching, when Charlotte turns 25 the African elephant will be gone from the wild.
'My rejection of ivory today is not a judgement of past generations. It is an acceptance of the world as I find it today and the world I want my children, George and Charlotte, to inherit.'
During the occasion, Kate was also spotted without a sash on her dress, unlike the other members of the royal family including the Duchess of Cornwall and the Queen.
This isn't the first time the royal has attended state dinners sans sash. Remember last year's Spanish State Banquet and the state banquet with China’s president, Xi Jinping, in 2015?
The reason is because sashes and badges are known as 'orders', given from the Queen to relatives in the royal family as a reward for their service, PEOPLE reports.
The blue sash (worn by Kate's step mother-in-law and Her Majesty) represents the Royal Victorian Order of the Queen, which Kate does not yet have.
However, the occasion marked the second time for Middleton to wear a yellow silk ribbon with a small painted portrait of the Queen surrounded with diamonds (usually painted on ivory).
The badge is widely recognised as a symbol of the Royal Family Order given to female members of the royal family, and was bestowed to Princess Diana during her marriage to Prince Charles.
The royal previously wore the badge at the Diplomatic Corps recent in December.
Arriving at the event with Prime Minister Teresa May's husband, Philip May, onlookers also couldn't help but notice Kate's diamond and pearl necklace, which dates back to 1914 and was a favourite of the Queen Mother, who previously wore the piece for a state banquet honouring the Netherlands back in 1982.
According to Her Majesty's Jewel Vault, Her Majesty inherited the necklace in 2002 but hasn't been seen wearing the piece in public. Kate is notably the first royal to wear it since the Queen Mother.
Katie O'Malley is the Site Director on ELLE UK. On a daily basis you’ll find Katie managing all digital workflow, editing site, video and newsletter content, liaising with commercial and sales teams on new partnerships and deals (eg Nike, Tiffany & Co., Cartier etc), implementing new digital strategies and compiling in-depth data traffic, SEO and ecomm reports. In addition to appearing on the radio and on TV, as well as interviewing everyone from Oprah Winfrey to Rishi Sunak PM, Katie enjoys writing about lifestyle, culture, wellness, fitness, fashion, and more.
