Queen Elizabeth: Where Is Her Engagement Ring Today?
Queen Elizabeth was gifted her engagement ring from Prince Philip and wore it daily until her death in September 2022. So where is it today? Who has it?
Who has Queen Elizabeth’s engagement ring?
The royal family generally bequeaths heirloom jewelry to others in the House of Windsor. Therefore, it is likely that Queen Elizabeth’s engagement ring is now in safekeeping for an undisclosed family member.
However, the ring may also be part of the royal jewelry collection. The Jewellery Editor reveals where Queen Elizabeth’s collection may be kept.
The queen was known to have around 400 tiaras, rings, necklaces, and brooches. The jewelry collection is reportedly rich in history and of unmistakable value. These jewels are stashed 40 feet under Buckingham Palace in a converted air raid shelter with an alarm connected to the palace’s police station. Throughout her reign, Queen Elizabeth had already gifted jewels to the wives of her sons and grandsons; Camilla Parker Bowles, Kate Middleton, and Meghan Markle.
Queen Elizabeth’s engagement ring is an Art Deco masterpiece
Prince Philip and Queen Elizabeth were seriously involved in a relationship when it was expected the two would marry. While the royal family headed on a royal tour to Africa, Philip and his mother, Princess Alice, planned her engagement ring.
Princess Alice agreed to provide gemstones from one of the little-used tiaras to make the ring. She traveled to Paris and broke down one of her wedding gifts, an aquamarine and diamond tiara, for Elizazbeth’s ring.
Thus, a three-carat diamond from Alice’s tiara was set in platinum. Smaller stones were set on either side, and Philip presented the ring to Elizabeth.
More of the diamonds from the tiara were used to make a diamond bracelet. This was offered to Queen Elizabeth II as a wedding present. In The Queen’s Diamonds, Sir Hugh Roberts describes the bracelet as having “three stepped millegrain and pavé-set links, each centered by an old brilliant in a rub-over setting.”
Which royal offspring could get to wear the queen’s ring next?
Royal correspondent Katie Nicholl told Entertainment Tonight in 2022 that Queen Elizabeth’s private jewelry collection could be passed down to her great-grandchildren. According to the report, the decision as to what to do with the queen’s jewels rests with the reigning monarch, her son, King Charles.
“These are gifts given to the queen over her reign, but the crown jewels belong to the monarch. They stay safeguarded at the Tower of London for the nation, and when one monarch dies, the crown jewels are immediately passed to their heir,” Nicholl said.
The correspondent believes Queen Elizabeth’s engagement ring could be held for Princess Charlotte, Prince William’s only daughter. Allowing Charlotte to wear her great-grandmother’s ring would keep the priceless heirloom in the family.
“Whoever gets to wear that ring is going to be very special, indeed,” Nicholl explained. “I would imagine, possibly, perhaps for Princess Charlotte. We’ll have to wait and see.”
The royal family has not disclosed official details surrounding Queen Elizabeth’s engagement ring.
