24 January 2024 , 14:56
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The sapphire and diamond ring that was once Princess Diana's became Kate's when Prince William popped the question to his long-time girlfriend in 2010. And there turns out to be an incredibly sweet - and pretty heartbreaking - reason why he wanted to use his late mother's heirloom.
William explained why he wanted to use the ring in the official joint interview that the couple gave to announce their engagement. The sentimental gesture showed that even though the marriage between Diana and Charles had ended unhappily, infamously breaking down in an acrimonious fashion over several years, William was still determined to use it.
During the interview, which was conducted by ITV's Tom Bradby, William admitted that he had wanted to give Kate his late mother's ring as a way of including her in the landmark moment of his life.
"It's my mother's engagement ring so I thought it was quite nice because obviously, she's not going to be around to share any of the fun and excitement of it all - this was my way of keeping her close to it all," William said.
Kate, for her part, was full of glowing praise for the ring, saying that the choice was "very, very special" and that she thought it was "beautiful". She also added, "I just hope I look after it."
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Princess Diana is said to have chosen the stunning blue and gold piece herself from a selection that was offered to her. At the time it was said to have cost £28,000, but these days estimates run from £300,000 to the ring being pretty much priceless because of the royal history that's attached to it. It's no wonder that Kate was a bit worried about keeping it safe and sound.
It features a 12-carat blue oval sapphire, surrounded by 14 solitaire diamonds, set on a white-gold band of 18 karats. But Kate was forced to make some minor adjustments to the masterpiece because she found the ring to be a little bit too big for her.
She had small platinum beads added to the bottom of the ring, to stop it from "turning on her finger". A source was reported to say at the time that "A bride's worst nightmare is looking down and seeing her ring has fallen off. One can only imagine how this is magnified when you are marrying the future King of England."
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