This November marked fourteen years since the Prince and Princess of Wales announced their engagement to the world and posed for the iconic pictures at St James’s Palace. Catherine’s spectacular engagement ring attracted a lot of attention and was instantly recognisable.
The piece once belonged to Princess Diana and it’s been suggested that King Charles hadn’t been expecting his eldest son to propose with it. Writing in The Windsor Legacy, former royal correspondent Robert Jobson claimed the decision didn’t entirely please His Majesty.
"Privately, Charles was surprised, even ‘a little irritated’ that William had proposed to Catherine using the same 12-carat Ceylon sapphire and diamond ring from Garrard’s 1981 catalogue, that he had presented to Diana on their engagement," Robert wrote, citing a conversation with a former senior royal aide.
Perhaps the King’s supposed "irritation" was due to the ring’s association with his former wife and their marriage, which was still a subject of gossip and scrutiny long after they divorced in 1996. The ring was connected to a particular chapter of His Majesty’s life which was full of unhappy as well as joyful memories.
It’s possible that being "surprised" contributed to his private reaction, as well as how famous and strongly linked to Diana it still was. Despite reports over the years that Prince Harry had chosen it as a keepsake from his mother’s possessions and later selflessly gave it to his brother, in Spare he wrote that William had always had it.
Harry shared that William had asked for it to remember her and he’d been "happy to let it go" to him. The Prince of Wales carried Diana’s ring around in a backpack for around three weeks before he proposed to Catherine on holiday in Kenya and confessed later he’d have been in a "lot of trouble" if he’d lost it.
Catherine wears the sapphire regularly at events and engagements, though in the past few years she has been spotted without it on occasion. In its place, eagle-eyed fans have identified a new band of sapphires and diamonds that she sometimes stacks with it as well.
Whilst King Charles might not have predicted his son would propose with this ring, William explained in his engagement interview why it was important for him to do so.
"It's my mother's engagement ring so I thought it was quite nice because obviously she's not going to be around to share any of the fun and excitement of it all - this was my way of keeping her close to it all," he said.
Prince Harry also wanted Princess Diana to be part of his proposal to Meghan in 2017 and so he used diamonds from her collection in the design. Given that neither of Diana’s daughters-in-law got to meet her, these rings are a lovely tribute and a way to feel connected to her.
King Charles will surely understand this sentiment, as when he proposed to Queen Camilla he did so with an Art Deco-style diamond ring that once belonged to the Queen Mother. He was close to his grandmother, who used to live at his London home, Clarence House. Although he could’ve proposed with an entirely new ring, he, too, went for one with a connection to someone special.
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