The engagement ring of Meghan Markle it has always been at the center of media attention, perhaps much more than the one that belonged to Lady Diana, now on the finger of Kate Middleton. For months the Duchess did not wear it, sparking gossip. In fact, someone hypothesized that the absence of the jewel was a clear sign of an alleged crisis with Harry. The jewel is back in the spotlight, but the rumors have not died down. Many social media users believe they have noticed a bizarre detail in the ring which, however, could have a plausible explanation.
A diamond from Botswana
In May 2017, he revealed the book Finding Freedom (2020), the Prince Harry he would travel to Botsawa for an engagement as patron of Rhino Conservation Botsawa. On that occasion he would also have chosen the central diamond of Meghan’s engagement ring. Two smaller diamonds belonging to Lady Diana were then added to this splendid gem in a gold setting. “The little diamonds on both sides are from my mother’s jewelry collection, to make sure she is always with us on this crazy journey together”Harry said during the interview following the official announcement of their engagement in November 2017.
The Duke of Sussex would have personally designed the ring worth around 180 thousand dollars, made by Cleave & Company. The marriage proposal, again according to the biography of Sussex, would have arrived in August 2017 in Botswana. The couple, in fact, had decided to celebrate both the first anniversary of their engagement and Meghan’s birthday in the African country. The rest is history, one might say.
In August 2023, however, many newspapers, including Harper’s Bazaar, Town & Country Magazine, People And Page Six gave great prominence to the absence ofengagement ring from Meghan’s finger, pointing out that the duchess would usually be very reluctant to part with it. In particular, everyone focused their attention on the fact that the prince’s wife had not worn the jewel even for such an important event as the Invictus Games of September 2023, held in Germany.
A clear sign of marital crisis? No, at least not apparently. In reality it seems there was no mystery, much less linked to Harry and Meghan’s wedding: the ring, People explained, would have been “under repair”, due to small problems in the frame. It wasn’t even the first time the Duchess had taken it off for some time. There had already been a precedent during the first pregnancywhen her fingers would have swollen to the point of preventing her from putting it on.
In any case Meghan she has always shown off her Welsh gold wedding ring, which alone should put to rest any doubts and an “eternity ring”, again designed by Harry with Lorraine Schwartz, which Harry would have given her in 2019 to celebrate their first wedding anniversary and the birth of their first child Archie.
Royal rings
Perhaps the real enigma is another: why would the tabloids insist so much on the issue of royal engagement rings, creating a case every time princesses and duchesses decide not to wear them? A striking case was that of Princess Charlene of Monacowhich would never have had a linear relationship with its “Thetis”, a three-carat pear-shaped diamond with pavé diamonds on the sides and a white gold setting, which Prince Albert chose from Repossi in 2010.
The newspapers, which have always expressed doubts about the stability of the union Charlene And Alberto, noticed the absence of the ring already in 2017, attributing it to a separation already underway. Rumors of the alleged breakdown of the marriage, however, became more persistent in 2021, when the princess had to remain in South Africa to treat an ear, nose and throat infection. Some pointed, again, to the diamond’s prolonged absence as irrefutable proof of an impending divorce.
Instead, Her Serene Highness returned to show off the jewel after her illness and return to the Principality, on the occasion of the Monte Carlo E-Prix on 30 April 2022. A choice which, upon closer inspection, is understandable: Charlene may not have had any desire to wear jewels during the South African parenthesis, in such a complicated moment of her life. Not to mention the Queen Letizia of Spain, who would almost never wear rings, not even a wedding ring. The problem, however, would not be the couple’s problems, but a simple annoyance which, Vanity Fair recalls, would worsen when the sovereign has to shake hands during official commitments.
The magazine explains that not even Queen Mary of Denmark often wears her engagement ring, made in the colors of the Danish flag. The reason would be disarmingly simple: being able to count on a notable collection of jewels, she would prefer to match the rings to the outfits. The list of royals who do not show off their engagement diamonds at every public engagement is long. After all, why should they? There are certainly no rules on this matter. The presence (or absence) of these rings tells us absolutely nothing about the state of princess marriages and duchesses. This is just a personal choice that can change at any time.
A ring that shines more than usual?
The engagement ring finally reappeared on Meghan Markle’s ring finger after eight months of absence. The first public occasion in which we saw him again was the film’s premiere Bob Marley. One Love in Jamaica, on January 23, 2024. Then, in February, the tour for the preview of the Invictus Games in Canada and, finally, in the shots for the Alliance of Moms charity project, in April 2024.
Except that there would be something strange in the images that immortalize the jewelas reported by the Mirror. “It seems that the diamond is twice as large as the original”wrote a social media user. “That’s why he didn’t wear it for so long. In the hope that no one would compare the images”said another. “I noticed it too. She has a bigger diamond”, ruled a third. There are also those who have ventured a hypothesis: “Could it be the same ring just with two more bands…?”.
The doubt did not arise by chance, out of nowhere. A year and a half after her engagement to Harry, in the summer of 2019, the duchess reportedly made a first “upgrade,” as the tabloids call it, of the ring, asking Schwartz to replace the yellow gold band with another studded with diamonds. The first public release with the modified jewel was the Trooping The Colour 2019. The newspapers did not take this change well. In June 2019 the Daily Mail wrote: “The ring is the latest in an extraordinary collection of jewels that Meghan has acquired over the past year and which has now reached the impressive value of £600,000.”
There Duchess of Sussex would he do it again? She would have demanded a second “upgrades” of the engagement ring? It’s not for sure. In this case the proverb applies “appearances are deceiving”. Or, at least, they could be deceiving. Looking at the images it might seem that the central diamond is larger and more sparkling, but it cannot be ruled out that this is an impression, a suggestion, also because it is really unlikely that Meghan had the Botswana diamond chosen for her by Harry replaced.
Jewelry expert Maxwell Stone of Steven Stone Jewelers offered a explanation simple and rational a Page Six: “It is almost impossible to see any changes from the available photos.
It could be a play of light, or the ring could stand out more when Meghan wears it, given that she hasn’t worn it regularly in recent months.”
