State Visit from the President of China: October 20-23, 2015


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Today was a "businesslike" visit as the guests did not fully commit to the usual dresscode.

But better then at the last State Visit from China. Then the president appeared in a suit with tie and the First lady in a day suit with sort gown for the State Banquet.
 
Camilla is a Dame Grand Cross in the Royal Victorian Order (picture), like Sophie. So she got her high decorations pretty quickly. The Order of St John given to Sophie is a different one, it is not a dynastic Order but an Order of chivalry, to award merits. Apparently Sophie has been contributing to the ideals of that Order (caring for the sick and the needy). Kudos for her.



I am sure that when King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima bring a State Visit to the United Kingdom, the carat power will go up. Today was a "businesslike" visit as the guests did not fully commit to the usual dresscode.

The Chinese always wear the Mao suit. President Xi wore it in state banquets in the Netherlands and in Belgium.


This President and his spouse do it with flair and style. Already in the Netherlands it was visible at the State Banquet how it nicely blended, all these black suits with the white tie: picture

The Royal Palace of Amsterdam lacks though the grandeur of Buckingham Palace, or the Royal Palace of Brussels, or the Castle of Laeken. In fact, the Dam Palace looks very much like a City Hall to me, which ot was in the past if I am not mistaken.
 
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Sophie didn't get hers until almost 5 years into her marriage and she's the only one we can really judge Kate by. I would imagine Kate will get it in the next year.

Diana had it after 18 months and she, like Kate, was expected to be a future Queen.

Camilla - another future consort to the monarch had it within 2.5 years.

Kate is being made to wait longer than either these two ladies who were/are future consorts.

There has to be a reason why The Queen is waiting so long to give it to her given how long Diana and Camilla had to wait.
 
Don't you just love the Chinese! Two of Madame Peng's albums in exchange for Shakespeare's sonnets! What an honour for the Queen and the British people!

Mrs Peng must think very highly of herself and her artistic talent.
 
I saw the part that the telegraph sent streaming: It was so great to see a state banquet live only just for fee minutes! It's as if the essence of the monarchy shows through this.
The queen looked elegant but very fragile again (no big surprise, it's understandable..) and although it is gorgeous I think the tiara is heavy and makes her majesty look more swamped by it. "heavy is the crown"LOL, kidding. The first lady of China is truly a beautiful lady and very elegant too. Catherine really looks gorgeous! I wasn't expecting red, and it was a big surprise! I prefer the halo tiara but this one is more appropriate for the event.
Now, I noticed thow faux.pas from her, but I'm not sure about them. Did he made the president of China wait?

About the RFO: everyone was expectin it, let's be honest... I am not a fan of Kate in general but I was really sure she would get it... LOL many must be disapointed... I thought that Kate had done the "main job of heir and spare", but it seems that for the queen that's not enough... I don't know the reasons behind it but IMO it is because she is not full time royal: not full time, not order IMO.
 

In the background you can see Tim Lawrence with the Duchess of Gloucester and Duchess of Cambridge. Princess Alexandra wore white like the Queen.

I think Madam Peng has looked particularly lovely throughout the day and I noticed while the Queen was giving her speech, she nodded and listened very carefully. I am impressed.

With regard to the exchange of gifts, I always understood that these were agreed upon between two parties, if so, I can only guess the Queen knew before hand and made the appropriate gestures of thanks for the music! I'm sure the Queen received other gifts too.
 
Diana had it after 18 months and she, like Kate, was expected to be a future Queen.

Camilla - another future consort to the monarch had it within 2.5 years.

Kate is being made to wait longer than either these two ladies who were/are future consorts.

There has to be a reason why The Queen is waiting so long to give it to her given how long Diana and Camilla had to wait.

Perhaps there is a difference between being married to the Queen's son(s) as opposed to her grandson.
 
Diana had it after 18 months and she, like Kate, was expected to be a future Queen.

Camilla - another future consort to the monarch had it within 2.5 years.

Kate is being made to wait longer than either these two ladies who were/are future consorts.

There has to be a reason why The Queen is waiting so long to give it to her given how long Diana and Camilla had to wait.
Diana was and Camilla is the wife of the heir. The heir (Prince Charles) was a full-time working royal and his wives were full-time working royals who in their early years accompanied Charles on his engagements.



I am sure that when King Willem-Alexander and Queen Máxima bring a State Visit to the United Kingdom, the carat power will go up. Today was a "businesslike" visit as the guests did not fully commit to the usual dresscode.
If they play it that way then they will have to monkey with the guest list and only invite women with significant tiaras like the Duchesses of Cornwall and Gloucester. If a Dutch state visit takes place before Kate is Princess of Wales then she will be wearing the same tiara she is wearing now.
 
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The Royal Family Order of Queen Elizabeth II isn't like knighthoods. The RFO is pretty much a nice family memento from The Queen that don't take years to get. It shouldn't have taken this long for Catherine to receive it, unless she decided not to wear it tonight. Which really wouldn't make sense. I guess the mystery of her getting the Order will continue, until Catherine attends the Royal Reception for the Diplomatic Corps in December and is seen wearing it.

Then again, Camilla didn't wear her RFO for her first State Banquet either.

I'm just glad to see Catherine and William attending their first State Banquet. That in itself is a miracle long overdue.
 
Diana had it after 18 months and she, like Kate, was expected to be a future Queen.

Camilla - another future consort to the monarch had it within 2.5 years.

Kate is being made to wait longer than either these two ladies who were/are future consorts.

There has to be a reason why The Queen is waiting so long to give it to her given how long Diana and Camilla had to wait.

Well but given they don't all get it at the same time, its difficult to say. Why did the Queen make Camilla wait longer than Diana or Sophie longer than Camilla?

Maybe its because Kate isn't a 'full-time' royal yet. Maybe its because she's not the Queen's daughter-in-law. We just don't know.

Andrew got his first order at just 19. Harry at 30.

The only thing I can say is Kate will eventually receive it.
 
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Someone on twitter pointed out that the miniature portrait of the Queen (on the RFO) is painted on ivory. So maybe that's why Kate is not wearing it.
 
Diana was and Camilla is the wife of the heir. The heir (Prince Charles) was a full-time working royal and his wives were full-time working royals who in their early years accompanied Charles on his engagements.




If they play it that way then they will have to monkey with the guest list and only invite women with significant tiaras like the Duchesses of Cornwall and Gloucester. If a Dutch state visit takes place before Kate is Princess of Wales then she will be wearing the same tiara she is wearing now.

Yes, I think Catherine will wear the Papyrus for a long time, which is disappointing by British Royal Family standards considering that she is a future queen. In other "poorer" royal houses, it would be a perfectly fine choice of tiara.

As for the Duchess of Cambridge not receiving the family order, maybe it's the Queen's subtle way of showing that she is not too happy with Catherine's workload. The poor woman had two babies though in the past 3 years or so !
 
The Chinese always wear the Mao suit. President Xi wore it in state banquets in the Netherlands and in Belgium.




The Royal Palace of Amsterdam lacks though the grandeur of Buckingham Palace, or the Royal Palace of Brussels, or the Castle of Laeken. In fact, the Dam Palace looks very much like a City Hall to me, which ot was in the past if I am not mistaken.

1. Not true, the Chinese not always wore their "Mao Suit" as my picture of President Jinping showed, earlier in this thread.

2. Less grandeur in Amsterdam? Hm... plastered walls with golden foil decorations (London & Brussels) versus massive 17th C marble and immense sculptures...

A banquet at Buckingham Palace (picture)

A banquet at the Royal Palace Amsterdam (picture)

A banquet at the Château de Laeken (picture)
 
1. Not true, the Chinese not always wore their "Mao Suit" as my picture of President Jinping showed, earlier in this thread.

2. Less grandeur? Hm...

A banquet at Buckingham Palace (picture)

A banquet at the Royal Palace Amsterdam (picture)

A banquet at the Château de Laeken (picture)

I have never been to Laeken or to Buckingham Palace (I've only seen them from the outside). I've been to the Dam Palace and to the Brussels Palace though and I must say I find the latter much more impressive than the former. Well, at least that is my personal opinion.
 
Any of the above Banquets beats the current 'dress down' Dinners now de rigeur at the rather 'dumbed down' élysée..
 
Someone on twitter pointed out that the miniature portrait of the Queen (on the RFO) is painted on ivory. So maybe that's why Kate is not wearing it.

This is a very good probability and perhaps the best reason I've heard yet why she either doesn't have it or just didn't wear it. It very well could be that perhaps the BRF will make a change from the use of ivory to some other medium for RFOs in the future.
 
I can't imagine Kate declining to wear the order as wouldn't this seem a slight towards the Queen? I'm sad to learn that ivory is still being used for this purpose. Hopefully, an alternative base can be found before Kate gets hers.


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I think that if she had received the order she would have worn it tonight. It is endearing to look for reasons but the truth is that many of us were conviced she had it and are now disappointed.. When she will have it, she will wear it..
 
I can't imagine Kate declining to wear the order as wouldn't this seem a slight towards the Queen? I'm sad to learn that ivory is still being used for this purpose. Hopefully, an alternative base can be found before Kate gets hers.


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I don't think it's still being used more as, it was being used when they last was made and they go in "rotation". I guess they will go over to enamel or something like that when new ones are made.

I think that if she had received the order she would have worn it tonight. It is endearing to look for reasons but the truth is that many of us were conviced she had it and are now disappointed.. When she will have it, she will wear it..
Well, its not the queens or Kate's fault that people belived the media and their (once again) disproved "inside sources"... I always took the rumour with a grain of salt even though I would have liked it to be true.
 
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RFO or no RFO, Kate made the front page on almost all of tomorrow's papers, including The Times.
 
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Perhaps there is a difference between being married to the Queen's son(s) as opposed to her grandson.

Diana was and Camilla is the wife of the heir. The heir (Prince Charles) was a full-time working royal and his wives were full-time working royals who in their early years accompanied Charles on his engagements.

Absolutely to what I was referring to, thank you for answering for me. Kate, imo, cannot be compared to Diana & Camilla who were/are the wife of the Prince of Wales. And likewise cannot be compared to a princess born into the family. Therefore, I think Sophie is the only one we can really compare her to in many cases.

The Royal Family Order of Queen Elizabeth II isn't like knighthoods. The RFO is pretty much a nice family memento from The Queen that don't take years to get. It shouldn't have taken this long for Catherine to receive it, unless she decided not to wear it tonight. Which really wouldn't make sense. I guess the mystery of her getting the Order will continue, until Catherine attends the Royal Reception for the Diplomatic Corps in December and is seen wearing it.

Then again, Camilla didn't wear her RFO for her first State Banquet either.

I'm just glad to see Catherine and William attending their first State Banquet. That in itself is a miracle long overdue.

They do take years to get, in some cases. As I said, Sophie didn't get hers until 2004.

And I would love the proof that Camilla didn't wear hers for her first state banquet?

Someone on twitter pointed out that the miniature portrait of the Queen (on the RFO) is painted on ivory. So maybe that's why Kate is not wearing it.

Now that is a good point. Although, if the Duchess is joining her husband in his conservation efforts, then I would say she should never wear it. Choosing not to wear it just for this dinner would, imo, fall flat if she chooses to wear it in the future. If one is turning their back on something, in this case the ivory, then one must always come through. So if she wears it in the future, then I would say either she hasn't received it or her statement falls flat. If there is a statement to be made, of course.
 
I can't imagine Kate declining to wear the order as wouldn't this seem a slight towards the Queen? I'm sad to learn that ivory is still being used for this purpose. Hopefully, an alternative base can be found before Kate gets hers.


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Well considering that William is against the illegal wildlife trade and yesterday made big a speech about banning ivory, it would look a bit hypocritical for Kate to wear something made of it.

If Kate did decide not to wear it for that reason, I would like to imagine that the Queen would understand. Of course this is all speculation, but I thought the ivory issue was an interesting thing to point out.
 
Kate didn't receive the RFO because she's still not a full time working royal, according to the Queen's standards. Would have been nice, after the birth on the heir and a spare, to see this order as some king of encouragement. Well apparently not.
And about the ivory thing, i just can't imagine Kate saying to the Queen "well that's nice, but no thank you your Majesty, that's ivory you know..." in front of the other royal ladies wearing their very own orders.
 
Well, its not the queens or Kate's fault that people belived the media and their (once again) disproved "inside sources"... I always took the rumour with a grain of salt even though I would have liked it to be true.


I didn't say it is HM or Kate's fault:flowers: It's just that only because she is said to have received the order, because she is popular and because many like her one should never give something for granted. The reason behind it are not known to us. Maybe it is because HM is not happy with her work, perhaps it's merely because she isn't full time yet, or she may have to wait few years just because the queen want it like that. We don't know... She hasn't got the order now, she will in future, that's it:lol:
 
Kate didn't receive the RFO because she's still not a full time working royal, according to the Queen's standards. Would have been nice, after the birth on the heir and a spare, to see this order as some king of encouragement. Well apparently not.
And about the ivory thing, i just can't imagine Kate saying to the Queen "well that's nice, but no thank you your Majesty, that's ivory you know..." in front of the other royal ladies wearing their very own orders.

Why not? If it's something she and William feel passionate about, I don't see why she couldn't decide not to wear it.
 
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