Queen Victoria was famously buried with several significant rings, including her engagement ring (a gold serpent with an emerald) and wedding ring, along with others, including a ring from John Brown's mother, as part of her detailed burial instructions, signifying her deep sentimental attachments to her loved ones.
instylemagazine It's widely believed that Elizabeth II was buried with her wedding ring; as such, the mystery of the inscription remains a secret for the lifetime loves to share. Learn all about ring's diamonds and their surprising connection to royal history here 💍💎
Diana was wearing a ring given to her by Dodi Fayed when she died. It was a £3,000 Bulgari yellow gold band with diamonds. The diamond band set in yellow gold was not an engagement ring and was worn on the fourth finger of her right hand, where her butler Paul Burrell advised her to wear it.
~ The Queen asked that she be buried wearing as much of her personal jewelry "as could be fit on her body". She was buried with a ring on every finger, bracelets stacked along her wrists, and her neck layered with necklaces.
In 1987, after Wallis' death, her engagement ring was sold at auction by Sothebys. The ring in its new yellow gold setting plus the original platinum band it had been set in sold for $1.9 million dollars.
The 69-carat Taylor-Burton Diamond, famously owned by Elizabeth Taylor, is now part of the private collection of Lebanese jeweler Robert Mouawad, who purchased it in 1979 after Taylor sold it to fund a hospital in Botswana. Mouawad had the famous pear-shaped gem recut, reducing its weight to around 68 carats, and it remains in his family's extensive collection of rare jewels.
Meghan Markle's jewelry collection includes several heirloom pieces from the late Princess of Wales. The Duchess of Sussex wore Diana's iconic "divorce ring" to her 2018 wedding reception, for example. She has since stepped out in earrings, bracelets, and necklaces that once belonged to her late mother-in-law.
The Queen's cipher was discreetly embroidered into each garment. The numbering system (in this case '35') was to help the household staff to identify and sort the linen after laundering, and possibly because such garments were ordered in quantities and then worn in rotation.
Princess Diana did not have an open-casket funeral. Since she died in a car accident and was subject to an autopsy, the chances are that nobody would have wanted the princess to have been remembered in such a way, thus keeping the casket closed.
In addition to her engagement ring and her wedding band (the latter, a gift from fellow jewelry aficionado Queen Elizabeth II), Markle also donned Diana's iconic "divorce ring" for the evening reception at her 2018 nuptials.
She loved wearing brands, which included Chanel. However, the then Princess of Wales stopped wearing Chanel following her divorce. Apparently, the label's logo, the double interlocking C's, reminded her of the betrayal she had by Prince Charles because of his then-affair with Camilla Parker Bowles.
I omitted obey from my vows.
As Maxwell Stone told Express, Camilla has worn and redesigned several pieces over the years that were “once loved by Princess Diana,” causing “quite a lot of controversy” by doing so.
Prince Harry whispered to his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, that he hoped she was happy and with his grandfather, Prince Philip, and expressed his admiration for her dedication to duty until the end, as revealed in his memoir Spare. He said he hoped she'd be happy and with Grandfather now, acknowledging her service through the Jubilee and her final duties.
Perhaps, with its 12-carat sapphire and 18-carat white gold band, the engagement ring is simply too heavy for day-to-day wear. Or, Kiehna noted, the dazzling jewel may not be seen as suitable for a royal's more “intimate” engagements.
Princess Margaret didn't bow to Princess Diana's coffin at her funeral primarily due to a deep-seated resentment stemming from Diana's 1995 tell-all Panorama interview, which Margaret saw as a severe betrayal of the Royal Family and the Queen; Margaret never forgave Diana for publicly airing grievances and challenging royal decorum, viewing her as a disloyal figure, leading to her snub during the funeral procession despite their initially warm relationship.
For anyone keeping track, here are the known secret codes for the rest of the royal family: King George VI's death was coded "Hyde Park Corner." Prince Philip's is "Operation Forth Bridge" (a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Edinburgh) and the Queen Mother's was "Operation Tay Bridge" (located in Dundee, Scotland).
Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh (then Sophie Rhys-Jones) did not attend Princess Diana's funeral in 1997, reportedly because her strong resemblance to Diana would have been too upsetting for the grieving crowds, a decision made thoughtfully by Sophie herself. At the time, she was dating Prince Edward, but they were not yet engaged or married.
It's more of a modern reinterpretation that gained traction through social media. But historically, the bow started as a functional detail- women used to tie their underwear at the front before elastic existed, and the bow marked the front. Over time it became more of a decorative element, which is how we use it today.
Queen Victoria's last words were whispered and debated, but most accounts suggest she murmured either "Bertie" (her son, who became Edward VII) or "Albert" (her beloved deceased husband), likely seeing a vision of him as she died peacefully at Osborne House in 1901, surrounded by family.
The open-crotch design made personal hygiene more convenient, particularly when dealing with multiple layers of clothing. This allowed women to use chamber pots, outhouses, or communal latrines without needing to undress completely—especially beneficial in colder climates or limited-privacy situations.
Meghan Markle has publicly shared that she experienced postpartum preeclampsia, a serious and rare condition involving high blood pressure and excess protein in the urine that occurred after childbirth, describing it as a "huge medical scare". She revealed this on her podcast, Confessions of a Female Founder, highlighting the life-threatening nature of the disorder, which can happen weeks after delivery and impact new mothers' ability to care for their newborns.
Levin suggests that Meghan's choice of fragrance gave her an insider advantage in winning Harry's affection, noting, “The first time they met, she had Diana's perfume on.
But it was not the scent of figs Meghan Markle chose for her wedding, or even candles like her sister in law. Instead, she went with a classic Diptyque diffuser in the scent, Baies, one of the brand's bestselling fragrances according to royal biographers Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand in their book Finding Freedom.