Then, of course, there’s Kate’s iconic engagement ring: once owned by Princess Diana, the 12-carat opal-cut sapphire, surrounded by 14 round-cut diamonds, was originally designed by Garrard, and remains one of the most famous ever pieces of royal jewellery. After Prince William proposed in 2010 on a trip to Kenya, the ring rarely seemed to leave Kate’s hand, with ‘big blue’ quickly becoming one of the most in-demand ring styles globally. Indeed, Garrard’s ‘1735’ ring, which is based on the design, remains a best-seller for the brand – partly thanks to Kate Middleton keeping the style forever in the spotlight.
In the latter half of 2024, however, many noticed that the Princess seemed to have replaced Diana’s engagement ring with something different. After the Princess of Wales made her cancer diagnosis public in March 2024, she made few public appearances; yet during that period, her engagement ring was noticeably absent.
At the time, many royal jewellery experts offered explanations as to why the Princess of Wales might have switched from an engagement ring to a stack of eternity bands. ‘Royal women wear their engagement rings in different ways, just like the rest of us,’ said Lauren Kiehna, founder of The Court Jeweller blog, to People magazine. Indeed, Queen Letizia of Spain, Meghan Markle, and Sophie, the Duchess of Edinburgh, have all been known to take off their engagement rings for protracted periods of time.
Over the months since, the Princess has chopped and changed when it comes to her preferences, choosing to wear her ring stack in various incarnations. For Remembrance Sunday in November, she chose to forgo her pavé band; for a trip at the National Portrait Gallery in February, however, she left her engagement ring at home instead. Clearly, Kate likes to switch things up when it comes to styling her stack – proving, time and again, that she’s a master when it comes to adopting versatile fashion trends.
