Kate Middleton's engagement ring is an oval Ceylon sapphire ring set in 18-karat
According to engagement ring experts, the Princess of Wales removes her ring for "health and safety reasons." Lilly is the assistant editor at Brides.
The most famous engagement ring in history
Diana chose her sapphire engagement ring from Garrard in 1981. Encircled by a halo of diamonds set in 18 carat white gold, the deep, intense blue of the 12-carat oval Ceylon sapphire is magnificent, enhanced by its exceptional lustre.
Perhaps the most famous piece of jewelry Kate inherited from Princess Diana is this sapphire engagement ring. The ring was created by British jeweler Garrard and chosen by Prince Charles for his proposal to Diana in 1981.
Kate Middleton and Princess Diana Have This Surprising Physical Attribute in Common. The Princess of Wales never had to get her heirloom sapphire engagement ring resized because she and her late mother-in-law have the exact same ring size.
The yellow gold band has not one but three diamonds: a central rock of three carats from Botswana, where the couple had holidayed together, and two diamonds on either side from Princess Diana's collection. Markle showed off the ring at Kensington Palace when the pair announced their engagement in 2017.
Apparently, when Diana died in 1997, Harry was allowed to select his favorite piece from their mom's jewelry collection—and he selected the sapphire engagement ring.
Aquamarine Cocktail Ring
On Meghan's wedding day, she debuted two rings: a simple wedding band made of Welsh gold, and Princess Diana's Aquamarine ring. After the ceremony, Meghan changed to head to her reception at Frogmore House (top) and was first photographed wearing the colorful piece of jewelry.
After Diana's tragic death at the age of 36 in a 1997 Paris car crash, her jewelry was inherited by her two sons, Prince William and Prince Harry. The glittering pieces collected by Diana throughout her married life held enormous sentimental value to both the princess and the princes.
Following Diana's death in August 1997, the sapphire ring was inherited by her son Prince Harry, who eventually offered it to his older brother Prince William before he proposed to Kate Middleton with it in 2010.
Meghan Markle's engagement ring features three diamonds
Meghan's engagement ring boasts three stones, a style known as a trilogy ring. Three-stone rings typically represent a couple's past, present and future, with the largest stone symbolizing the present and the importance of being in the moment together.
The late princess continued to wear her engagement ring even after she and Prince Charles divorced in 1996. After her death, Prince William inherited the sapphire sparkler, eventually using it to propose to Kate Middleton in 2010.
So she essentially wore them for four years more than she needed to, and it was for a very touching reason: it was out of respect for her sons, according to Mail Online.
In 2019, royal watchers noticed that something had changed with Meghan's engagement ring. Meghan's yellow gold engagement ring band, which Harry said he had chosen because it was her favorite, had been replaced with a thin micro-pavé band.
While Middleton has donned red toe polish on several occasions, she's never worn dark colors on her hands, choosing to go with a clear or nude manicure, or in many cases, no polish at all. Most fans seemed to love the change.
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'.
If tradition prevails, most of the Queen's personal jewels will be passed on to King Charles III and Queen Camilla. It is speculated that Catherine, Princess of Wales will also receive some of the jewels as she will eventually be Queen.
Radar Online reported in September 2022 that was Kate was expected to inherit $110 million in jewelry from the Queen after her death. The collection includes 300 personal pieces of jewelry that belonged just to the Queen and not the Crown.
Instead, they go on to be used by the current monarch and their partner (or consort). That means that the Royal collection will be inherited first by Prince Charles (and will be available for Camilla as Queen Consort) and then William and Kate.
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.
It is said Meghan Markle now owns the impressive aquamarine ring, which adds to her collection of other jewellery gifted to her by Harry from Princess Diana's royal jewellery collection.
As for why the Queen left Meghan out of her inheritance, Radar Online's source speculated that it could be due to either “practicality” or Harry and Meghan's drama with the British royal family in the years leading up to the Queen's death.
3, 2006 — -- At the time of her death, Princess Diana was wearing a diamond ring given to her by Dodi Al-Fayed, according to a new book by Diana's former butler, Paul Burrell. The $5,000 ring was a friendship ring, not an engagement ring, according to Burrell, who claims the princess was not ready to remarry.
And as William became engaged to Kate in 2010, long before Harry met wife Meghan Markle, it was said they later swapped the pieces of jewellery. However, in his controversial memoir Spare, Harry reckons this was "absolutely rubbish ", writing: "I never gave Willy that ring because it wasn't mine to give.
It has also been said that she chose it, quite simply, because it was the biggest ('it's the most expensive,' Charles quips in the scene) and a style that was fashionable in 1980s high society (it went on to be widely imitated, Diana was and still is the ultimate influencer).