Queen Hosts Lavish Black Tie Dinner at Buckingham Palace

The Queen of England, wearing an ivory white, beaded lace dress decorated with crystal daisies and the Queen Martiara, a ruby and diamond necklace with matching earrings, welcomed her guests to her home at Buckingham Palace.

The event was attended by 130 guests from around the world, including world leaders, dignitaries, and members of the royal family.

As head of the Commonwealth, the Queen expressed her delight at being able to host this occasion in the United Kingdom for the first time in many years.

She also thanked her guests for attending the dinner, which provided an opportunity for everyone to come together as friends.

The younger members of the royal family, including the Duke of Cambridge, Prince Harry, Princess Beatrice, and Eugenie, were in attendance, along with older members of the family.

The Queen was particularly pleased to greet Canada's Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, who seemed to be the man of the hour as he chatted with Prince Harry.

The dinner featured a three-course meal and wines from England, New Zealand, Australia, and Cyprus.

Prime Minister Theresa May was one of the first to arrive at the dinner, wearing a dark green and black evening gown with red patent heels, and was accompanied by her husband Philip May.

The lavish dinner was held ahead of the anointing of the Queen's successor on Friday, as she expressed her sincere wish that they pick Prince Charles to take over as leader of the Commonwealth.

Luxury cars arrived one by one at the palace, each dropping off a foreign leader in black tie attire.

Representatives of each of the 53 member nations arrived in a convoy of Range Rovers, each escorted by a detective.

Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull was accompanied by wife Lucy, while New Zealand's visibly pregnant Prime Minister Jacinta Ardern arrived with her partner Clark Gayford.

Trudeau smiled and waved to the cameras as he arrived alone for a drinks reception ahead of the dinner.

Many guests arrived in traditional dress for the dinner in the palace's picture gallery, which was created by John Nash as part of his transformation of Buckingham House into a palace for George IV from 1825 and designed as a setting for his art collection.

The 47-metre room contains works from many periods, almost all acquired by one of four great picture collectors – George IV, his father George III and grandfather Frederick, Prince of Wales, as well as perhaps the great royal picture collector, Charles I.

The first wine served, Windsor Great Park Vineyard 2014 English quality sparkling wine, is a commercial operation on the Crown Estate, not the royal family's own vineyard.

Every guest had their own butter dish, and among the china used was a green sivers dessert service from the 1790s made of soft-paste porcelain for Louis XVI.

It was purchased by George IV when he was Prince Regent and the service was used at Carlton House in the 1820s.

The Queen and Prince Charles received Commonwealth Heads of Government and their spouses in the blue drawing room before moving to the picture gallery for the night's meal, followed by a speech from Her Majesty.

Normally, the ballroom would be used as a banqueting venue, but it was used today for the opening of the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting, often the venue for royal drinks receptions.

Prince Harry and his bride-to-be Meghan Markle attended a women's empowerment reception hosted by the Foreign Secretary, Boris Johnson.

Trudeau, earlier admitting he would be missing the royal wedding next month, said he wished the couple the very best but had important responsibilities elsewhere.

In conclusion, the Queen's black tie dinner was a grand affair attended by world leaders, dignitaries, and members of the royal family.

The lavish event featured a three-course meal and wines from around the world.