Kate Middleton’s engagement ring is a gorgeous sapphire and diamond ring that once belonged to Prince Charles’ late mother, Princess Diana. This ring is one of the most iconic engagement rings of all time. This eye-catching ring started a sapphire engagement ring craze, which had a second wave when it was announced that Kate would also be wearing the ring.
While this ring has been widely acclaimed by the public, it was recently revealed that the ring was initially very controversial within the royal family. It seems that many royals were apparently quite upset due to the ring’s breaking of tradition.
A major issue the royal family took with this engagement ring was that it was not only not unique to Princess Diana, it was not unique at all. While most royals have custom engagement rings, Princess Diana actually selected her ring from a catalogue. So, while the 12 carat Cerylon sapphire, white gold, and white diamond engagement ring had quite a unique design, there were actually many made. And any non-royal could buy it themselves from the crown jeweler Garrard’s catalogue (provided they could afford its hefty $60,000 price tag).
Additionally, it was also a break in tradition for Princess Diana to choose her own engagement ring at all, which was another hot point of debate among the royal family.
Now, of course, this engagement ring is one of the most famous and celebrated of all time. The fact that it belonged to Princess Diana, a widely beloved public figure, has led to it now being estimated at a worth of $500,000.
Kate Middleton has expressed her appreciation of the ring, and has stated that she finds it “very special” that her husband proposed with his mother’s ring.
However, it’s been rumored that, without a pivotal decision by Prince Harry, Kate may have never gotten the legendary engagement ring. Supposedly, while Princess Diana gifted her jewelry collection to both of her sons, Prince Harry was the one who ended up with Princess Diana’s engagement ring. But it’s been said that when Harry knew that William was going to propose to Kate, he swapped his mother’s engagement ring for her Cartier watch so that William could use it to propose.
The debate around Kate Middleton and Princess Diana’s engagement ring may have caused some ruffled feathers among the royal family originally, but it seems that they’ve grown more accepting of it today. Now, the engagement ring, as worn by Kate, is generally regarded as a touching tribute to one of the royal family’s most beloved figures.