TOPPING OFF STATE VISIT WITH SUMPTUOUS DINNER THE KING AND QUEEN WARMLY WELCOME SOUTH KOREA'S PRESIDENT AND FIRST LADY TO BUCKINGHAM PALACE

The royal family rolled out the Korea's President Yoon Suk Yeol and First Lady Kim Keon Hee last week, with a dazzling state banquet following a ceremonial welcome full of pomp and pageantry.

- Emily Nash

The King and Queen, joined by the Prince and Princess of Wales, Princess Royal, Duchess of Edinburgh and Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, rubbed shoulders with K-pop stars including all four members of Blackpink, one of the world's biggest girlbands, as well as senior officials and politicians from Seoul.

SHINING EXAMPLE

Kate dazzled in the Queen Mother's Strathmore Rose Tiara, worn for the first time in public for nearly a century, diamond earrings that had belonged to the late Queen, a white Jenny Packham gown with matching leather Paula Rowan gloves, the Royal Family Order of Elizabeth II and the blue sash and star of the Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order.

Prince William wore white tie with his medals and stars of the Orders of the Garter and Thistle, along with the Lesser George on his Garter Sash.

In a nod to the South Korean flag, Her Majesty chose a red velvet evening dress by Fiona Clare and Elizabeth II's ruby and diamond Burmese tiara with her own ruby and diamond necklace and earrings.

The King, meanwhile, wore white tie with the Garter and Thistle Stars and the neck order of the Sovereign's Badge of the Order of the Bath. He added to this a star, neck decoration, sash and badge of the Grand Order of Mugunghwa, which was given to him by President Yoon earlier in the day.

His Majesty was applauded as he began his speech before dinner by addressing his guests in Korean, telling them: "Yeong-gug-e osin geoseul hwan-yeonghabnida," meaning: "Welcome to Britain."

In his toast, he added: "As we mark the 140th anniversary of our diplomatic relationship, your visit to the United Kingdom celebrates our remarkable partnership. It is one in which close personal connections, fostered over many decades, have blossomed today into a real sense of affection, or jeong, between our societies at so many levels.