Duchess Kate brings back Diana's memory to Buckingham Palace

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge made a stunning appearance at the Diplomatic Reception at Buckingham Palace in London on Tuesday.

William suited up in a black-and-white tux while Kate was wearing, appropriately, the dazzling diamond and pearl Cambridge Lover's Knot tiara, once owned by Princess Diana.

The couple was also joined by Prince Charles and Queen Elizabeth II.

The annual white tie event consists of the Queen meeting with representatives from different countries and is attended by 1,500 guests.

It is the largest – and, some say, the most glittering - reception the monarch holds each year at Buckingham Palace.

So it was fitting that the Duchess of Cambridge brought out the best of royal family's jewels.

The dazzling headpiece was a favourite of Diana, Princess of Wales, and was given to her by the Queen as a wedding gift in 1981.

It is considered to be a touching tribute to the mother-in-law that the Duchess never met.

The tiara was originally made by Queen Mary in 1914 to her own design from pearls and diamonds already in her family's possession.

The diamond and pearl-encrusted tiara has a strong French influence with a neo-classical design of 19 diamond arches, each cradling an oriental pearl drop.

It was a copy of one owned by her grandmother, Princess Augusta of Hesse, who married the first Duke of Cambridge, seventh son of King George III, in 1818.

In her will Queen Mary left the tiara to the Queen who wore it frequently, including at an evening event in 1955.

In 1981 she gave it as a wedding present to Prince William's mother, Diana, who wore it for the first time at the state opening of parliament that November.