Kate Middleton Says Princess Diana's Engagement Ring Fit Perfectly. Middleton is "honored" to wear her mother-in-law's ring.
In a now-deleted video posted to Instagram (per Today), a well-wisher pointed to Kate's sapphire engagement ring, which previously belonged to Diana. Revealing that she and Diana share the same ring size, Kate told the fan, “It's the same ring and it's exactly the same size as when I tried it on. It's very special.
Meghan has been seen wearing several pieces that once belonged to her late mother-in-law Princess Diana. From her spellbinding engagement ring, to diamond sets and vintage watches, several of the former Princess of Wales' jewels have been gifted to Meghan by her husband, Prince Harry.
Curiously, Prince Harry actually received the ring after their mother died, but according to Maxwell Stone of renowned UK jeweler Steven Stone, "it's alleged he gave the beloved band to his brother, Prince William, so he could propose to Kate Middleton with it."
“Kate typically removes her engagement ring whenever she is taking part in physical activities and sports or when there is a greater risk that the ring could become damaged or lost,” the Steven Stone experts note. With such a valuable piece that cost about $500,000, it's no wonder that Kate wants to play it safe.
Instead, Queen Jetsun Pema of Bhutan claimed the number one spot. According to the experts at Steven Stone, the monarch has the most expensive royal engagement ring, worth around $1.5 million. The jeweler also noted trends among the royal engagement rings.
The Legacy of Princess Diana's Engagement Ring
Following Princess Diana's death in 1997, Prince William and Prince Harry inherited her jewelry collection. In 2010, William used his mother's 12-carat ring to propose to Kate while on vacation in Africa.
'” According to Burrell, Harry wanted the ring because it represented a fond memory from his childhood. After Harry received the iconic jewel, Burrell remembers that William was happy for his brother because he's “not materialistic, so he didn't look for the flashiest jewel in mummy's collection."
It is known that before the Queen, who is the symbol of national unity, everyone bowed. "But that day, it is Elizabeth who bowed her head as a sign of respect for the passage of Diana's coffin, the woman who wore more than anyone else had defied the conventions of the palace."
On Meghan's wedding day, she debuted two rings: a simple wedding band made of Welsh gold, and Princess Diana's Aquamarine ring.
The emerald and diamond necklace said to have been gifted to Princess Diana by the Queen was returned to the Royal vault after her death. But recently, in 2016, Camilla was spotted wearing the piece. It was turned into a brooch so the piece was more subtle, but there was no escaping the fact that it was still Diana's.
After the princess' death, most of her personal jewelry was inherited by her two sons Princes William and Harry, with pieces loaned to her during her lifetime being returned to Queen Elizabeth II, where they are most likely to have been inherited by King Charles in 2022.
The last time this stunning piece was seen in public was the Met Gala in 1996. The beautiful choker is now owned by Prince William and Prince Harry.
The Princess delighted royal fans when she wore Diana's Diamond and South Sea Pearl Earrings at the 2019 BAFTAs, alongside a one-shoulder Alexander McQueen gown. Kate has since worn the jewels at Royal Ascot, Remembrance Sunday, and for King Charles's coronation on 6 May.
While it is now common practice for both the bride and groom to give each other a ring as a sign of their eternal devotion, a royal aide explained that Prince William's decision not to wear a ring was 'simply down to personal preference'.
However, Prince Charles did not have a ring for Princess Diana at the time of proposal. So, she got to choose her own ring, and she decided to pick from a catalog. This stirred some controversy as it wasn't an heirloom or customized piece and wasn't exclusive to the royal family.
Lead-lined coffins slow the body's decomposition by keeping moisture out of the casket. Lead does not decay and so remains airtight, preventing decomposition, but also any smells and gases from being released; not something you want if multiple Royals are sharing a vault or may be moved in the future.
The royal family cannot actually force anyone to bow to them, lol, and they make it clear on their website that there “are no obligatory codes of behavior when meeting the Queen or a member of the royal family.” But then they go on to list the “traditional” forms of greeting.
The two influential women remained close through the years, with the queen calling Diana 'an exceptional and gifted human being' in a speech at Buckingham Palace after the princess' tragic death.
"It has long been suggested that Diana selected the ring because it reminded her of her mother's engagement ring. An alternate theory suggests that she loved the deep blue hue of the sapphire because it matched the color of her eyes," Kwiat says.
The marriage might have been troubled, but Diana loved the ring. So much so that she continued to wear it after her and Charles separated. After the divorce was finalised, however, she took to wearing a whopping aquamarine ring instead.
Prince Harry has revealed he cried only once over the death of his mother, Diana, the Princess of Wales, in 1997.
She famously purged her wardrobe just months before her death, auctioning off many of her defining garments – including the Stambolian dress and a blue velvet Victor Edelstein gown that she had worn when dancing with John Travolta at the White House – to raise money for HIV/AIDS charities.
The ring, a gift from Lucia Flecha de Lima, was made by Asprey, and it arrived in Diana's jewelry box around 1996. What is this? That October, she memorably wore the ring with an electric blue Versace gown for a fundraising gala in Sydney, Australia, benefiting the Victor Chang Cardiac Research Institute.
Diana continued to wear the ring even after her divorce from Prince Charles. When Prince William proposed to Catherine Middleton in the autumn of 2010 in Kenya, he gave her the ring.