With its oval blue sapphire surrounded by a cluster of 14 diamonds, the ring Prince William gave Kate Middleton is among the most famous in the world.
Lady Diana Spencer chose it for her engagement to Prince Charles in 1981 from a selection presented to her by the then Crown jewellers Garrard of Mayfair. It cost £28,500 but, unusually for a choice by a member of the Royal Family, it was not unique and any member of the public could buy the same ring from the Garrard catalogue.
While not everyone could afford to buy such a rock – the large central stone is a 12-carat oval Ceylon sapphire and the solitaire diamonds elegantly surrounding it are set in 18-carat white gold – Diana’s choice sparked a trend for similar- looking rings.
Both Meghan’s ring (right) and Kate’s ring (left) have sweet links to their late mother-in-law Princess Diana
Sapphires were one of the late princess’s favourite gemstones, and some commentators say she chose it because it reminded her of her mother’s engagement ring.
Before the Princess of Wales’s death in the 1997 Paris car crash, the ring was valued at more than £250,000 because of its connection to the royals, and in particular Diana.
Speaking of the ring during his engagement announcement in 2010, William said ‘It’s very special to me. As Kate’s very special to me now, it was right to put the two together,’ he said. ‘It was my way of making sure my mother didn’t miss out on today and the excitement, and the fact that we’re going to spend the rest of our lives together.’
Meanwhile, Meghan’s ring also has a link to Princess Diana, as it was designed from a piece of her jewellery.
At the time of their engagement in November 2017, Prince Harry spoke about creating Meghan’s engagement ring with the help of jewellers Cleave and Company.
Both Meghan (right) and Kate (left) had rings inspired by Princess Diana, the sisters-in-law both thanked their husbands at the time for the rings
The custom design featured one diamond originally from Botswana and two smaller stones from Princess Diana’s collection.
‘The ring is obviously yellow gold because that’s [Meghan’s] favourite and the main stone itself I sourced from Botswana and the little diamonds either side are from my mother’s jewellery collection, to make sure that she’s with us on this crazy journey together,’ The Duke of Sussex explained.
Meghan called it ‘incredible’, explaining: ‘Everything about Harry’s thoughtfulness and the inclusion of [Princess Diana’s stones] and obviously not being able to meet his mum, it’s so important to me to know that she’s a part of this with us.’
Prince William, Prince Harry, Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle are pictured at the Remembrance Sunday service at Westminster Abbey
‘It’s incredibly special to be able to have this [ring], which sort of links where you come form and Botswana, which is important to us. It’s perfect.’
The Duchess of Sussex also wears her wedding band, which is in yellow gold to match Prince Harry’s.
However last year experts speculated that Meghan had redesigned her ring, after she was spotted wearing it while out doing official duty before Megxit this year.
Royal watchers at Town and Country noted that on recent outings the Duchess has worn a different band.
Original: Prince Harry proposed to Meghan in November 2017 with a glittering ring comprising of a solid yellow gold band set with three diamonds, pictured
Now: On recent outings the Duchess has worn a different band. At Trooping the Colour Meghan’s diamonds were set on a thinner, micro-pavé band, as seen above
Delicate: The new, thinner band, pictured is more in keeping with Meghan’s love of dainty jewellery. The Duchess also wears her wedding ring and a third diamond ring
Jewellery expert Arabel Lebrusan said the ring appears to have been changed, and suggested it was more American in style compared to the original engagement ring.
Arabel, owner the ethical jewellery brand Arabel Lebrusan, called the thinner band a popular trend at the moment, revealing: ‘Many celebrities do this, as the central stone looks bigger in comparison getting the wow factor.’
She now has little diamonds set down the sides of her engagement ring and the band also seems thinner than before.’
She also revealed that the glittering band only emphasised the Meghan’s diamonds, and added: ‘The diamond setting on the band looks like micro-set, this means there is very little metal in between the stones maximising the sparkle of the tiny diamonds.’
She has also been seen with a third diamond band, which many royal watchers speculated could have been an anniversary gift or a ‘push present’ given to the royal by her husband after Archie’s birth.