In October 2010, while they were on vacation in Kenya, Prince William asked Kate Middleton to marry him. The future king gave his mother, the late Princess Diana, the same sapphire and diamond ring that she had given him. A jewelry expert says that wearing the heirloom piece is harder than it looks because it comes with its own challenges. Every engagement ring is special, but not every one is a piece of royal history. Kate Middleton’s is, though, and her famous sapphire and diamond ring needs constant care and is said to be hard to wear.
Kate Middleton on the 16th of June 2025
Kate Middleton on June 16, 2025. In 2010, Prince William asked Kate to marry him with a ring that had a lot of meaning. It was the same ring that his father, Prince Charles, gave to his mother, Lady Diana Spencer, in 1981. The ring has a 12-carat oval Ceylon sapphire in the center and a halo of 14 diamonds set in 18k white gold around it. It’s a beautiful piece by anyone’s standards. Ben Roberts, the managing director of Clogau, the brand that makes the Welsh gold that Brides says is often used in British royals’ engagement rings, says, “Most people don’t know how much work it takes to keep an heirloom in good shape every day.”
Kate Middleton on the 20th of April, 2023
On April 20, 2023, Kate Middleton appeared. Roberts told Hello!, “Caring for an heirloom of such value is hard enough as it is, even without any changes.” Kate and her team will need to do regular inspections and in-depth evaluations, gentle cleaning to bring back the shine, and, if necessary, expert repairs to make sure it lasts.
Princess Diana with her engagement ring on
William asked Princess Diana to marry him more than 13 years after she died in a car accident in Paris on August 31, 1997. In their first interview after getting engaged, William told ITV News that he chose to propose with his mother’s famous engagement ring while they were on vacation in Kenya in October 2010 because “obviously, she’s not going to be around to share in any of the fun and excitement of all this.” This is how I keep her sort of close to everything.
The History of the Sapphire Ring
According to Vogue, the ring, which is now worth about $517,000, was inspired by a brooch that Prince Albert had British jeweler Garrard make for his future wife, Queen Victoria, as a wedding gift in 1840. Victoria loved the piece so much that she wore it on the front of her dress on her wedding day as her “something blue.” She wore it until she died. Queen Elizabeth got the brooch as a gift. She wore it many times. It is said that her son Charles got the idea for engagement rings for Diana from that sapphire and diamond piece. Hello! says that Diana’s ring was worth $37,806 in 1981.
Kate Middleton on the 3rd of October, 2023
Kate Middleton on the 3rd of October, 2023. On October 11, 2023, Kate Middleton shows off her engagement ring. Kate Middleton’s $500,000 sapphire and diamond engagement ring isn’t always on her finger every day. Kate Middleton on the 4th of February 2025.
Kate Middleton’s Words About the Ring
Kate said in an ITV News interview in 2010 that her engagement ring was “beautiful” and that she hoped she would “look after it.” The Princess of Wales didn’t talk about her engagement ring again for 13 years, until she went to the Welsh town of Merthyr Tydfil in April 2023. According to Newsweek, during this visit, Kate told William that she and her late mother-in-law Diana wore the same size ring. When William proposed with the sapphire and diamond sparkler, it didn’t need to be resized.
Kate said, “It’s the same ring.” “And it fits the same way it did when I tried it on.”
Kate Middleton on October 9, 2018
Kate Middleton on the 9th of October, 2018. The future queen said her ring was “very, very special” and that it was “an honor” to keep wearing it. Kate said that she “never got to meet her,” which is too bad, because Diana as a grandmother would have been “brilliant.”
Kate said, “We miss her every day, and that’s what matters.”
