Princess Kate wears lost Queen Mother diamond tiara that hasn’t been seen since the 1930s

The Princess of Wales with Choo Kyung-ho, Deputy Prime Minister of South Korea, arriving for the State Banquet at Buckingham Palace.Photo / AP

Princess Kate is known as a fashion icon in the Royal family and her latest look proves why.

Appearing at a state banquet at Buckingham Palace earlier this week, where she, King Charles, Queen Camilla and Prince William hosted the President of the Republic of Korea, Yoon Suk Yeo, and First Lady Kim Keon Hee, the princess had a surprise fashion moment.

Joining approximately 170 people at the white-tie event, People magazine reported Kate, 41, wore a tiara so special it hasn’t been seen in almost nine-decades.

Prince William and Kate, Princess of Wales ahead of the State Banquet. Photo / AP

Named the Strathmore Rose tiara, it is the fourth tiara Kate has worn in her royal career and once belonged to the late Queen Mother. It’s understood Kate is the second person to wear the tiara - which was a wedding present when she married Prince Albert (later King George VI) - in its lengthy history as it has remained behind closed doors since the 1930s.

Speaking to the magazine, Lauren Kiehna, founder of The Court Jeweller revealed what she believes is the hidden meaning behind Kate’s tiara choice, “Kate has always signalled that she’d like to emulate the Queen Mother’s royal role, and wearing her jewels is an important symbol of that continuity.

“It’s fitting that Kate - likely with some assistance from King Charles - would choose to wear the tiara exactly a hundred years after the Queen Mother originally received it. The piece is an antique that wasn’t fashionable for many decades, but many jewels once considered fussy or unstylish have now been embraced again.”

The tiara is likely a sign of Charles and Kate’s close relationship as the monarch was known to be close with his grandmother who died in 2002.

The Princess of Wales with Choo Kyung-ho, Deputy Prime Minister of South Korea. Photo / AP

It comes weeks after the King visited Kenya and revealed during a state dinner some fond memories of the African country stating, “It was here, in sight of Mount Kenya, that my son, the Prince of Wales, proposed to his wife, now my beloved daughter-in-law,” he said.

Kate was first seen wearing a tiara as the Princess of Wales in November at King Charles’s first state banquet at Buckingham Palace.

The princess dazzled in an embellished white gown by Jenny Packham, paired with the real show-stopper: Queen Mary’s Lover’s Knot tiara. Boasting pearls that dangle from intricately detailed diamond knots, the tiara was also a firm favourite of her mother-in-law, Princess Diana.