Kate Middleton’s Engagement Ring Was Once Looked Down By The Royal Family

The world will always look back at one of history’s most-awaited and most-watched wedding affairs — the royal wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton. It has all the royal aspects of a wedding. However, before the lavish celebration, Kate’s iconic engagement ring created a stir in the royal family.

Prince William officially introduced Kate as his fiancee in Nov. 16, 2010. Kate greeted the world wearing a blue wrap dress by Issa London. The world, however, fixated their eyes on Kate’s engagement ring, the Ceylon blue sapphire ring.

The sapphire ring set in white gold adorned with 14 solitaire diamonds was recognized by the royal watchers as something from the past. Prince William has given the Duchess of Cambridge Princess Diana’s engagement ring, which was in turn given by his father, Prince Charles. Prince William proposed with his late mother’s ring as a “way of keeping her close to it all.”

The engagement ring has a controversial backstory that the public may not be aware of. Princess Diana picked the ring in the catalogue of crown jeweler Garrard. While the 12-carat ring is an impressive piece of jewelry, the ring was not custom made and was available to commoners.

The blue rock, whose value at that time was $60,000, handpicked by Princess Diana, did not sit well with the royal family. Several sources say that the royal family looked down on the ring choice as it did not exude exclusivity since any commoner could have bought the ring for herself.

But Princess Diana had a good reason for choosing the blue sapphire ring. The engagement ring was a resemblance of her mother’s ring. The ring’s design was inspired by Queen Victoria’s blue sapphire brooch, which was given to her by Prince Albert in 1840.

Ever since Prince Charles gifted Princess Diana the ring, the Princess continued to wear it until the couple’s divorce in 1996. During the Princess’ death, Prince Harry chose the ring for his keepsakes, while Prince William selected his mother’s Cartier watch.

Prince William asked Prince Harry if he could have the ring for his proposal to Kate. This is why Kate has it now. The ring was resized to fit her finger. The ring’s design is currently one of the most sought-after ring designs in the world, and its value increased ten times.