Prince William proposed to Kate in 2010, when he presented her with a sapphire from his late mother, Princess Diana which is worth around £390,000. The ring is a beautiful 12 carats Ceylon blue sapphire. But what’s the secret behind it?
She continued: “In her will, she specified that it would remain a Crown heirloom, ensuring the brooch would always belong to the reigning monarch.
“The Queen has worn it several times and it has been said by Garrard that this sapphire brooch inspired Prince Charles at the time of choosing a ring for Diana.
“All this means that Prince William will eventually inherit the brooch commissioned by Prince Albert and that perhaps suggests that one day Kate will wear it too.”
Known as the Prince Albert’s Brooch, it is one of the most important pieces that he added to the royal collection.
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The jewel was priceless for Queen Victoria, who wrote in her diary that Albert had given her “a splendid brooch;
“A large sapphire set round with diamonds, which is really quite beautiful.”
Queen Victoria loved her new brooch so much she wore it on her wedding gown the next day.
She paired it with a demi-parure of jewels made out of diamonds that had been given to her by the Sultan of Turkey.
Charlotte White explained: “Kate’s ring is a spectacular, beautiful, and large engagement ring which is instantly recognisable and the honour of wearing that legendary jewel is something myriads of women could only dream of.
“There is no question that, irrespective of price tags and fashion, Kate’s ring is one of the most iconic and well-recognised of our generation, steeped as it is in royal history, even though it was actually a pret-a-porter model, ordered from a Garrard’s catalogue by Diana who chose it in 1981.
“When you consider royal choices for engagement rings, from Camilla, to Zara Phillips, Beatrice and even Charlene of Monaco and Meghan, they all opted for diamond-only styles.
“But from Princess Diana, and hence Kate, to Sarah Ferguson and Eugenie, richly coloured gemstones have played a central role in all these royal women’s glamorous engagement ring designs,” Charlotte explained.