Prince Philip made a very romantic gesture in 1947 when he designed an engagement ring for his fiancé, then Princess Elizabeth. The Duke of Edinburgh used diamonds from his mother’s tiara and even had some left over to make more jewellery for his bride. Prince Philip, who died at the age of 99 this time last year, proposed to the Queen in 1947 with the three-carat design.
The ring is a platinum ring set with 11 diamonds, a three-carat round solitaire and five smaller stones set on each shoulder.
Those diamonds are especially significant because they were pulled from a tiara owned by Prince Philip’s mother, Princess Alice of Battenberg.
The Princess gave her son the tiara in 1946 knowing that he would soon propose.
Prince Philip then helped to design the Queen’s engagement ring alongside London jeweller Philip Antrobus Ltd.
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Using diamonds from his mother’s tiara may have been a way to save money, as well being as a sentimental gesture, as whilst Prince Philip was born a Greek Prince, it seems his family were not extremely wealthy.
Jewellery experts from Steven Stone told Express.co.uk: “After taking a close look at the Queen’s engagement ring, our diamond experts estimate is likely to be worth around £207,000 on today’s market.
“In comparison, Meghan Markle’s ring is estimated to be worth around £96,729, whilst Kate Middleton’s is now worth around £300,000 thanks to its timeless legacy.”
However, the Queen’s engagement ring did not require every diamond featured on the tiara.
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“HRH designed a bracelet as his wedding present to the Queen with stones from his mother’s tiara and was also responsible for overseeing the construction and design of the Royal Yacht Britannia.”
In more recent years, the accessory has seemingly been worn by Kate Middleton.
The Queen met Prince Philip when they both attended the wedding of Philip’s cousin, Princess Marina of Greece, who was set to marry The Duke of Kent.
This was in 1934 when the Queen was eight and Prince Philip was 13.
They met again at Dartmouth Royal Navy College in 1939 when the Queen was now 13 and Philip was an 18-year-old Royal Navy officer. Prince Philip tried to impress the soon to be Queen on the tennis court.
Soon after, the couple started writing to one another and Prince Philip declared his love.
Their engagement was announced on July 9, 1947, after Philip asked King George VI for permission to marry his daughter.
The wedding took place four months after the engagement on November 20 at Westminster Abbey and was viewed by 200 million people worldwide.
As rationing was still in effect at the time, the Queen’s wedding dress was simple, with a fitted bodice and heart-shaped neckline which was paid for by clothing coupons.
To show their support, hundreds of people across the UK sent the Princess their own coupons to help, however they had to be returned as it would have been illegal for her to use them.