Why Princess Diana’s Engagement Ring Was Wildly Unpopular With the Royal Family

Princess Diana‘s sapphire and diamond engagement ring set off a trend of using precious gemstones as engagement rings and remains one of the most memorable celebrity and royal family engagement rings ever. However, Diana’s engagement ring was wildly unpopular with the House of Windsor family despite its popularity with the public.

Princess Diana’s engagement ring was iconic with everyone but the royal family

After only meeting 13 times, Prince Charles proposed marriage to Princess Diana. He was 32, and she was 19.

As a modern couple, Charles wanted Diana to pick her own ring. So, in 1981, Charles presented Diana with a selection of Garrard rings. At the time, Garrard was the crown jeweler.

Per Vogue, Diana decided on the stunning Ceylon sapphire stone surrounded by diamonds set in white gold. However, the royal family was unhappy with Diana’s choice because the ring was a stock item. This meant that anyone could purchase the statement piece if they had around $60,000.

Queen Elizabeth, in particular, was upset that Diana didn’t choose a unique or bespoke item. Most, if not all, of the royal engagement rings curated for royal brides were one-of-a-kind.

However, Diana’s choice reportedly had a deeper meaning. While some reports claimed she picked the ring because it was the biggest, others believed it reminded her of her mother, Frances Shand Kydd’s engagement ring.

A third school of thought was that the ring was inspired by a brooch once owned by Queen Victoria. Commissioned by her husband, Prince Albert, the brooch featured a diamond sapphire center stone within a halo of 12 diamonds set on a gold band.

How big was Princess Diana’s engagement ring?

Princess Diana’s engagement ring had a 12-carat center sapphire encircled by fourteen perfect diamonds. The cost of this standout piece was £47,000 at the time of purchase. Today, the ring’s estimated worth is approximately £300,000, or nearly $400,000.

Each diamond was mounted individually, forming a halo effect around the center sapphire. The overall look remains one of history’s most stunning royal jewelry pieces.

Diana’s engagement ring is now on Kate Middleton’s finger

When Princess Diana died, the ring allegedly went to Prince Harry. His brother, Prince William, received Diana’s Cartier watch.

Harry later decided that the ring should be on the finger of the future Queen of England. So, the brothers exchanged heirlooms.

Prince Harry set the record straight about the fate of Princess Diana’s sapphire ring in his memoir Spare. He confirmed that he was the recipient of Diana’s iconic ring.

“The papers published florid stories about the moment I realized Willy and Kate were well matched, the moment I appreciated the depth of their love and thus decided to gift Willy the ring I’d inherited from Mummy, the legendary sapphire,” he recalled. “A tender moment between brothers, a bonding moment for all three of us, and absolute rubbish: none of it ever happened.”

However, Harry shared never-before-told details of how William ended up with the ring. “I never gave Willy that ring because it wasn’t mine to give. He had already had it. He’d asked for it after Mummy died, and I’d been more than happy to let it go.”

When Prince William proposed to Kate Middleton with Princess Diana’s blue sapphire ring in October 2010, the couple married in April 2011.