Over the years, royal engagement rings have certainly taken on many styles. While the sapphire engagement ring worn by Princess Diana is well known, the circumstances surrounding her engagement ring are not often remembered. When Prince Charles first proposed to the young blonde, he did not have an engagement ring. Rumor has it that he wanted to be sure that Lady Diana Spencer gave appropriate thought and consideration to the prospect of becoming his bride, marrying into the royal family and presumably one day becoming queen.
As a result, he did not present her with an engagement ring until after she had accepted. At the time he arranged for a selection of engagement rings to be presented to his fiancée to choose from and the future princess chose the sapphire engagement ring surrounded by diamonds. The center sapphire weighed 18 carats and was encircled by fourteen smaller diamonds. The price of the engagement ring at the time (1981) was said to have been about $65,000. Although this was considered to be a rather paltry sum at the time, it certainly sparked a trend in engagement rings that is still going strong today.
When Prince Charles proposed for the second time, this time to his former love Camilla Parker Bowles, he chose an Art Deco platinum and diamond engagement ring that had once been worn by his grandmother, the Queen Mother. The heirloom engagement ring features a diamond with an emerald cut and three diamond baguettes flanking each side of the center diamond. Their actual wedding rings were specially designed.
When it was Prince Andrew’s turn to present an engagement ring to fiancée Sarah Ferguson he chose a ruby and diamond ring. It was thought at the time that ruby and diamond engagement rings would become extremely popular with others due to the fact that there had been a surge in popularity in sapphire engagement rings following the engagement of Prince Charles and Lady Di. The speculation that this would increase the popularity of ruby and diamond engagement rings was definitely well founded.
The jewelers who anticipated the trend certainly proved to be correct as there was a surge in ruby and diamond engagement rings in the months and years following the engagement and marriage of Prince Andrew and the princess who would come to be known fondly as Fergie. Much like celebrities, the Royal Family, has certainly been known to set trends and not just in their home country, but around the world as well.
Ruby and sapphire engagement rings flanked by diamonds have continued to be popular engagement rings in Britain as well as the United States. The diamond engagement ring has actually not been the most popular style of engagement ring abroad. Queen Elizabeth has worn a diamond engagement ring, but she is one of few to have done so and clearly broke with English tradition by wearing a diamond solitaire engagement ring. While this is surprising in some ways, it is really not that surprising in others as the queen has demonstrated more than once that she will break with tradition when she feels compelled to do so.
Her ancestor Queen Victoria wore an engagement that was highly popular at the time and featured two serpents which were to represent her as well as her husband, Prince Albert. The serpent or snake engagement ring, while considered to be highly unusual today, was actually extremely popular at the time. This was the first Victorian engagement ring to ever be created and it featured an emerald, which was the queen’s birthstone.
It remains to be seen if and when Prince William will actually propose to Kate Middleton and whether he will choose a ring or they will select a ring together. It is certainly entirely possible that a sapphire ring will be chosen in a nod to his late mother while he might also choose to go in an entirely different direction and choose something else altogether, such as a diamond solitaire engagement ring similar to his grandmother’s.
Regardless of what type of ring is chosen for the woman who will one day be the Princess of Wales it is certain that the style will spark the same popularity as the rings that other royal brides have worn over the years.
November 19th, 2009 at 6:16 pm
Prince William and his girlfriend are such a cute couple! I really hope he does propose with a spectacular ring. If I were Kate, I would totally cross my fingers and hope that he got me a sapphire ring in platinum in a nod to both his mother and grandmother. Not only would it be gorgeous, it would be meaningful and symbolic in so many ways!
April 25th, 2011 at 12:16 am
And who would have guessed he would give Kate his mother’s ring. I, for one, was very moved when I learned he had given it to her. I certainly hope she cherishes William and the ring both.