Kate Middleton's State Banquet trick is the royals' secret weapon - and we could be about to see it in action again

With the first State Banquet of the year almost upon us, the Princess of Wales will surely have already carefully planned her outfit for the occasion if she's going. So much thought goes into all of her royal looks but Kate’s State Banquet trick means that what she’ll wear for the event honouring President of Nigeria, Mr Bola Ahmed Tinubu, is even more important than usual.

The future Queen has attended nine State Banquets so far and she’s paid tribute to the visiting Head of State’s country with her outfit every single time. Often, they’re very subtle details, like when Kate wore her beautiful blue Jenny Packham gown and the Oriental Circlet Tiara to the State Banquet held in honour of German President, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, last December.

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The shade of blue exactly matched Germany’s national flower, the cornflower, and the Oriental Circlet Tiara was designed by Prince Albert for Queen Victoria. He was German and Victoria also had German heritage so the Princess of Wales’s headpiece nodded to the UK’s bonds with Germany more specifically too.

At her first ever State Banquet in 2015 she went a little bolder with the style messages and dressed in scarlet with the Lotus Flower Tiara. Bright red is the national colour of the visiting nation, China, and a sign of good fortune, whilst lotus flowers are also highly symbolic.

Kate’s even paid homage to previous State Banquet before, like when she dressed in her glimmering gold lace dress for President Trump’s visit last year. At first glance this was just a gorgeous, intricate design. However, it was also very similar to the gown Queen Elizabeth wore to the banquet for then-President George Bush in 2005.

I would be astounded if this resemblance wasn’t intentional and once again it celebrates the relationship between the two nations. We’ve also seen her wear white for the State Banquets held for the leaders of South Korea and South Africa - both of which have white on their flags.

She’s also worn blue to honour the flag of the Netherlands and pink which tied in with the pink-purple lion motif on the flag of Spain. It shows how much thought she puts into dressing for State Banquets and this could be seen as a secret weapon for the Royal Family.

After all, it does a lot for diplomacy and strengthening ties when the wife of the heir to the throne takes such care to celebrate and honour the visiting leader’s nation. It sends a powerful message and goes above and beyond, especially given it’s not a one-off but an established approach from the Princess of Wales when it comes to these occasions.

On the evening of 18th March the King and Queen, who also dress very carefully for State Banquets, will host President Tinubu and it’s likely the Princess of Wales will be there. The flag of Nigeria is green and white, so I wouldn’t be surprised if Kate stepped out in one of these shades.

As for jewellery, in 2003 the late Queen Elizabeth visited Nigeria wearing her Diamond and Pearl Leaf Earrings that her granddaughter-in-law has already worn before. Kate could bring these back for the State Banquet as a special nod to this previous trip.