BREAKING: Kate Middleton’s Next Tiara Moment Is Officially Set as She and Prince William Prepare for a Major Royal Role — And Their First Big Event After the Summer Break Has Everyone Talking.

Kate Middleton’s Next Tiara Moment Is Set as She and Prince William Prepare for Major Royal Role

As their summer break comes to an end, the royals have announced their first major event of the season

Kate Middleton attends a State Banquet at Windsor Castle on July 8, 2025.Credit : Chris Jackson/Getty

NEED TO KNOW

Kate Middleton’s next tiara moment is officially on the calendar
The royals have announced their first state visit of the season, which will mark the Princess of Wales’ first opportunity to flaunt a tiara following her brief summer holiday
Sultan Haitham bin Tarik of Oman will make a state visit to the United Kingdom from Oct. 20 to 22

Kate Middleton’s next major royal glamour moment is officially on the calendar.

Buckingham Palace announced on Thursday, Sept. 3, that Sultan Haitham bin Tarik of Oman will make a state visit to the United Kingdom from Oct. 20 to 22, marking the first incoming state visit of the season — and setting the stage for another glittering night at Windsor Castle.

King Charles and Queen Camilla will host the Sultan during the three-day visit, which will traditionally include the full pageantry of a ceremonial welcome and a white-tie state banquet. While the palace has not yet announced the full lineup of royal family members taking part, Prince William and Kate are expected to play prominent roles, as they have during recent state visits.

For the Princess of Wales, the occasion could bring her next tiara appearance. State banquets are among the rare occasions when royal women wear tiaras, making them some of Kate’s most anticipated style moments of the year.

Prince William and Kate Middleton arrive for a State Banquet at Windsor Castle during the state visit by the President of the United States of America on Sept. 17, 2025.Phil Noble – WPA Pool/Getty

But William and Kate’s involvement in state visits has increasingly gone far beyond the glamour.

Over the past year, the Prince and Princess of Wales, both 44, have taken on a historic role at the heart of Britain’s royal diplomacy. As heir to the throne and future Queen, William and Kate have regularly been tapped to personally greet visiting heads of state and accompany them to meet King Charles and Queen Camilla — placing the couple front and center as the monarchy welcomes some of the world’s most important leaders.

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The assignment is particularly significant for William. State visits are conducted at the highest level of diplomacy, and his prominent place in them offers a glimpse of the role he will one day assume as King.

The October visit will also carry its own sense of history. It will be the first state visit to the U.K. by a Sultan of Oman in more than four decades. The last took place in March 1982, when Queen Elizabeth hosted Sultan Qaboos bin Said.

Queen Elizabeth greets the Sultan of Oman, Sultan Haitham bin Tariq, during an audience at Windsor Castle on Dec. 15, 2021.JONATHAN BRADY/POOL/AFP via Getty Images

The royal family already has longstanding ties to Oman. King Charles, 77, visited the country four times as Prince of Wales, most recently traveling to Muscat in January 2020 to offer condolences following the death of Sultan Qaboos. Camilla, 79, accompanied Charles on a two-day visit to Oman in 2016.

More recently, King Charles welcomed Sultan Haitham to Windsor Castle for tea and a private meeting during the Sultan’s private visit to Britain in July 2025.

Now, the Sultan will return in considerably grander fashion — with the first state visit of the royal family’s fall calendar and another major diplomatic outing likely ahead for the Prince and Princess of Wales.

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Princess Kate played a particularly prominent role during U.S. President Donald Trump‘s state visit to the U.K. She sat next to the Commander in Chief during the state banquet and seemed to charm him; Trump toasted her as “radiant and healthy” during his speech at the dinner.

Kate Middleton toasts U.S. President Donald Trump during a State Banquet at Windsor Castle on Sept. 17, 2025.YUI MOK/POOL/AFP via Getty

Speaking exclusively to PEOPLE about the Princess of Wales’ impact during the visit, royal biographer Ingrid Seward said that the future queen was “very aware” of the spotlight on her.

“She lightened the whole evening. She lit up the table with the megawatt smile. There was a lot of pressure on her because all eyes were on her,” said the editor-in-chief of Majesty magazine. “She would be very aware that the most important person there was the King, but she can’t help that all eyes are on her.”

“She is definitely showing traits of being a remarkable future queen,” Seward added. “She has the most beautiful smile, which captivates everyone. It’s just magical.”

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State visits offer the royals a chance to wield their all-important “soft power” as representatives — and gracious hosts — of the United Kingdom.

While they are intended to remain apolitical, the royals’ presence can create opportunities for dialogue and smooth the path for negotiations between actual policymakers.

The term was coined by American scholar Joseph Nye, who introduced it as a counterpoint to the idea that all influence is measured in military strength or economic might. He was inspired in part by a visit to the U.K., where he witnessed the soft power of the late Queen Elizabeth in full force.

Finding The Mall near Buckingham Palace closed for the Queen’s attendance at the State Opening of Parliament, Nye missed an appointment while “the crowd waited for a little old lady driven by a horse and carriage,” he wrote in A Life in the American Century.