Yahoo奇摩新聞 Kate Middleton Stacks Three Rings on Her Finger and They All Are Super Meaningful
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Unlike those of us (me) who are out here wearing rings our middle school S.O.s got from Claire's, Kate Middleton has an extensive collection of diamonds to choose from—including multiple rings that she wears every single day without fail. Obviously, yes, I'm talking about the stunning white-gold engagement ring given to her by Prince William which belonged to his mother Princess Diana, but Kate also wears several other special rings from Wills. Here’s everything there is to know about Kate's rings.
Kate's Engagement Ring
Unlike other royal engagement rings that have been custom-made (including Meghan Markle’s ring from Harry!), People reports that Diana’s ring was featured in the catalogue for royal jeweler Garrard, meaning that in theory, multiple people could own the same style. According to Vogue, some think Princess Diana picked the sapphire because it reminded her of her mother’s engagement ring. Either way, the TASTE.
But while this ring wasn't "custom-made," it does have a fun royal backstory. Turns out the design was inspired by a massive sapphire brooch that was a gift to Queen Victoria from Prince Albert. Actually, Victoria wore the brooch at their wedding as her ~something blue~. Here's what Garrard creative director Sara Prentice told Vogue:
“It was said to be a strong influence on Prince Charles when he came to Garrard to purchase a ring for Lady Diana. He actually ended up setting a sapphire cluster ring for her, which was later given by Prince William to the Duchess of Cambridge on their engagement. I would imagine growing up being surrounded by your mother and your grandmother [with] such beautiful, incredible jewelry…it would stick with you.”
Nowadays, Queen Elizabeth owns the brooch that inspired Kate's ring. Here, go ahead and check out the resemblance for yourself:
So, why did William decide to give Kate his mom's ring? As a way of honoring her, of course. “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 in any of the fun and excitement of all this,” he said in a post-engagement interview. “This is my way of keeping her sort of close to it all.”
Meanwhile, Kate said, “I just hope I look after it,” and Wills joked, “If she loses it, she’s in big trouble.” (Ahem, now seems like a good time to note that on top of the sentimental value, the ring is worth around $500,000.)
Anyway, please feel free to devote the next 17 minutes of your life to watching this video—it’s truly 😍.
Before we move on to Kate's (many) other rings, FYI that Diana's ring originally belonged to Prince Harry. Turns out Harry inherited the ring from his mom’s estate but gave it to William when he was looking to propose to Kate. Princess Diana’s butler Paul Burrell recounted their convo in the Amazon Prime documentary The Diana Story, saying, “Harry said to [William]: ‘Wouldn’t it be fitting if she had mummy’s ring? Then one day, that ring will be sat on the throne of England.’”
Anyway, you are now an expert in all things Kate Middleton’s engagement ring, so congrats!
Kate's Wedding Band
Did you know the royals own a casual nugget of Welsh gold? A ton of their jewelry is made out of it, including Kate's wedding band. A royal spokesman told The BBC ahead of the royal wedding, "The wedding ring that Catherine Middleton will wear will be made of Welsh gold. The gold was given to Prince William by The Queen shortly after the couple were engaged. It has been in the family's possession for some years and has been in the care of the royal jewelers. There are no further details on which mine the gold was mined from."
As Bethany Fenn of the National Trust told CBS News back in 2018, "The queen on her 60th birthday, she got gifted a kilogram of this Welsh gold and she's been slowly chipping away at it with all these wedding rings ever since."
Kate's Eternity Band
This one was a present from Prince William after the birth of their son Prince George. The band first showed up on Kate's hand shortly after George's arrival, when she made an appearance at a high school in 2014 and was casually all:
Hello! Magazine later reported that her new ring is from London designer Annoushka, and retails for £1,500. In case you're in the mood to buy it:
Kate's Victorian Ring
This one was given to Kate by Prince William back in 2005, and is set with their respective birth stones. Also, a moment for this outfit:
Good job, Wills.
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