Kate Middleton made important adjustments to her engagement ring shortly before her wedding to Prince William in 2011. The Duchess of Cambridge altered the famous sapphire piece - which previously belonged to Diana, Princess of Wales - to avoid "a bride's worst nightmare."
However, just before her and Prince William's iconic wedding day on April 29, 2011, “Kate actually had the ring altered—as she found the band was too big and 'turning on her finger,'” according to The Mirror. The outlet added that the ring was ultimately taken to royal jeweler G.
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. What an honor to be able to wear it.”
Instead of breaking and resoldering the band itself, jeweller G. Collins and Sons added small platinum beads inside the band to reduce its diameter, which is why the secret alteration has not been visible from the exterior.
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.
When Prince William proposed to Kate in 2010, he presented her with his late mother's sapphire and diamond engagement ring. Princess Kate has been sporting the stunning jewelry on her finger ever since — and during a visit to Wales on Thursday, the royal revealed that she did not have to get the ring resized.
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. Prince Harry gave this to his wife Meghan as her 'something blue' to be worn on her wedding day.
Harry allegedly requested the engagement ring because "'that's the ring I remember from my childhood. '" On what happened next, Burrell said the brothers must have struck a deal. "Harry obviously gave up his treasure to his brother so that it could be on the ring finger of his wife who would one day be Queen."
After she and Charles split up she didn't return the ring — instead wearing it for years afterward. It's also worth wondering if Diana knew about the ring's connection to Queen Victoria and her wedding jewelry because Victoria and Albert had a famously happy and loving marriage.
Except for the Cambridge Lover's Knot tiara that Queen Elizabeth gave her as a wedding present, Princess Diana got to keep all the jewellery she received on her wedding - even her engagement ring.
On Meghan's wedding day, she debuted two rings: a simple wedding band made of Welsh gold, and Princess Diana's Aquamarine ring.
The engagement ring Camilla received from Prince Charles is an emerald-cut diamond ring surrounded by smaller diamonds, set in 18-karat gold. The design of the ring is said to be inspired by the engagement ring ofQueen Elizabeth. The Queen Mother owned Camilla's wedding band and frequently wore it in the 1980s.
No, Charles did not really buy Diana and Camilla the same pearls. According to reports, Charles bought Diana a set of an antique pearl and diamond necklace for Diana and a set of freshwater pearl jewelry for Camilla in 1981.
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.
“The Queen Consort, really, gets first choice of the Queen's jewelry. And after that is Princess of Wales, of course, Kate.
In his book, Harry says it was William who received the precious jewel after Diana died, despite what the papers reported.
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.
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.
Not only did the Queen then intercede and tell the Waleses it was time to divorce, but with Diana's paranoia having been stoked to such a degree and with her having lost trust in “key people,” as her brother has argued, she had made the decision to give up her official government bodyguard day-to-day.
After Meghan had her first child, she added a diamond band to her center three stones. It is rumored that she may have also added a scalloped hidden halo design to the center stones as well! It is believed that the royal couple upgraded the engagement ring's diamond band so that it matched Meghan's anniversary band.
Meghan Markle Engagement Ring
The stunning cushion cut diamond engagement ring he custom designed for her looks fantastic. The yellow gold ring is a perfect reminder that classic metals and shapes will stand the test of time for an engagement ring. Interestingly the proposal also highlights how times have changed too.
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.
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.
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 ring reportedly was found in the wreckage of the Mercedes and given to Diana's sisters when they came to Paris to accompany her body back to England.