The story behind Duchess Sophie's royal rings as the mystery of her bare finger sparks questions

Daily Mail​

4 days ago

While reports of Duchess Sophie stepping out this week without her wedding band have made recent headlines, staunch royal observers will recall the touching story behind her rings.
On Monday, Sophie, Duchess of Edinburgh, was photographed without her wedding ring during her visit to the RHS Hampton Court Palace Garden Festival.
The 60-year-old was spotted enjoying an ice cream cone on the first day of the event, but eagle-eyed fans quickly noticed her bare ring finger.
The following day, she was spotted wearing just her trilogy engagement ring, which she normally wears layered next to her gold wedding band.
Social media users have speculated why she chose not to wear the rings, though it is not the first time the Duchess has been seen without them.
It's possible that practical reasons such as resizing, maintenance or the extreme heatwave in the UK could explain the absence of the rings.
It has been 26 years since Sophie and the late Queen's youngest son, Prince Edward, married at St. George's Chapel in Windsor Castle on June 19, 1999.
They tied the knot in front of 500 guests and 200million viewers who tuned in to watch the event on television.
It has been 26 years since Sophie and the late Queen's youngest son, Prince Edward , married at St. George's Chapel in Windsor Castle on June 19, 1999
After six years of dating, Sophie and Edward revealed their engagement on January 6, 1999.
The engagement ring, reported to be worth upwards of £70,000, features a two-carat central oval diamond flanked by two heart-shaped diamonds, designed by Garrard, the same jeweller who created Princess Diana's iconic sapphire ring.
The ring symbolises 'enduring love' and the 'trilogy' design represents the past, present, and future.
Edward had proposed to Sophie just before Christmas while they were on holiday on Windemere Island in the Bahamas, but agreed to keep it secret so he could ask her father for permission.
'We are the best of friends, and we happen to love each other very much,' Edward said, as Sophie showed off her diamond engagement ring at a photocall in the gardens of St. James' Palace.
Sophie's gold wedding band is made from the same Clogau nugget as royals such as Princess Anne and the late Queen Elizabeth II.
There is a tradition with the Royal Family for wedding rings to be made from a single Welsh gold nugget from the Clogau gold mine. Only a sliver of the original nugget remains.
In November 1981, the Royal British Legion presented the Queen with a 36-gram piece of 21-carat gold for future royal wedding rings.
Sophie is pictured wearing her gold wedding band in March, 2022
Last year, she swapped out her pair of rings for alternatives, including an 'Africa' ring from Giulia Barela worth around £128. Edward and Sophie are pictured in Malta in 2024
This nugget was used for Sarah, the Duchess of York, in her marriage to Prince Andrew in 1986.
Sophie also received a ring from this nugget upon her marriage to Edward in 1999.
Their rings were made in a traditional design by Crown Jeweller David Thomas of Asprey and Garrard.
Sophie often mixes and matches which jewellery she wears.
Last year, she swapped out her pair of rings for alternatives, including an 'Africa' ring from Giulia Barela worth around £128 which she wore when she visited Malta.
Sophie also removed the ring on visits throughout the coronavirus pandemic, for hygiene reasons.
The most expensive royal engagement rings
MailOnline has compiled a rich list of the Royal's engagement rings, which reveals those with the greatest value and most rare stones.
The Princess of Wales: Value: £500,000+
Ring: Originally Princess Diana's engagement ring, the 12-carat oval-cut Ceylon blue sapphire is surrounded by 14 round-cut solitaire diamonds, set in 18-carat white gold.
Announcement: When William and Kate got engaged, on November 16, 2010, while on holiday in Kenya, he revealed that he had been carrying the sapphire and diamond engagement ring he inherited from his mother, Princess Diana, in his rucksack.
The couple had been dating for eight years before William popped the question in a log cabin at the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy, where they had been staying on safari.
'We had been talking about marriage for a while, so it wasn't a massively big surprise,' William said in the couple's engagement interview with ITV News' Tom Brady. 'I took her up somewhere nice in Kenya and I proposed.
'I had been carrying it around with me in my rucksack for about three weeks before that and I literally would not let it go. Everywhere I went I was keeping hold of it because I knew if it disappeared, I would be in a lot of trouble….
'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.'
Queen Camilla: Value: £240,000
Ring: Once belonging to the late Queen Mother, the five-carat emerald-cut diamond is flanked by three baguette diamonds on each side, in an Art Deco style design.
Announcement: On February 10, 2005, 35 years after they met, and a decade after their affair rocked the Royal family, Charles and Camilla finally announced their engagement.
It is not known where the future King proposed but Camilla has confirmed that he got down on one knee to pop the question. The couple tied the knot in a civil ceremony at Windsor's Guildhall on April 9, 2005.
The Duchess of Sussex: Value: £150,000+
Ring: Designed by Prince Harry, Meghan's yellow gold engagement ring features a cushion-cut diamond, from Botswana, which is estimated to be between 2.5 and 3 carats. The central stone is flanked by two diamonds which belonged to his mother Diana. She has recently reset the ring onto a slim, diamond-paved band.
Announcement: Harry and Meghan announced their engagement on November 27, 2017, after meeting on a blind date in London. The prince proposed while they were cooking roast chicken at his home in Kensington Palace.
'It was just an amazing surprise,' she said. 'It was so sweet, and natural and very romantic. He got on one knee.'
'She didn't even let me finish,' he added. 'She said: 'Can I say yes.'
'It was a really nice moment. Just the two of us.'
Princess Eugenie: Value: £100,000+
Ring: A rare soft pink Padparadscha sapphire, named after the colour of a Lotus blossom, surrounded by ten round-cut diamonds, with two pear-shaped side stones, on a yellow gold band.
Announcement: Buckingham Palace announced the engagement of Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank, former manager of Mayfair's Mahiki nightclub, on January 22, 2018, after they had got engaged on holiday in Nicaragua. In a series of tweets, her mother Sarah Ferguson congratulated her daughter and her fiancé saying the couple 'float with laughter and love' and the announcement was 'Total joy!'.
'We love Jack, and I am so excited to have a son, a brother and a best friend,' the duchess added. 'Eugenie is one of the finest people I know and so together it will be pure harmony.'
Princess Anne: Value: £70,000
Ring: Three-carat oval-cut sapphire ring with three smaller diamonds.
Announcement: Divorced from her first husband Captain Mark Phillips, father of her two children Peter and Zara, Princess Anne's second engagement to Vice Admiral Sir Timothy Laurence was private and low-key.
The couple met when he was serving on the Royal Yacht Britannia and they married in a small ceremony at Crathie Kirk in Scotland on December 12, 1992, as the Church of England didn't allow divorcees to get married. Despite it being her second marriage, the Queen, Prince Philip, the Queen Mother, Princess Margaret and Prince Edward all attended the wedding.
The Duchess of Edinburgh: Value: £70,000
Ring: Three-carat white gold diamond ring, nestled between two, smaller pear-shaped stones, made by Asprey and Garrard, now Garrard & Co.
Announcement: Buckingham Palace was bounced into announcing the engagement of Edward and Sophie, on January 6, 1999, after a story in the Sun newspaper announced that they were getting married in the summer. Edward had proposed to Sophie just before Christmas while they were on holiday on Windemere Island in the Bahamas but agreed to keep it secret so he could ask her father for permission. 'We are the best of friends, and we happen to love each other very much,' he said, as Sophie showed off her diamond engagement ring at a photo call in the gardens of St. James' Palace.
Princess Beatrice: Value: £60,000+
Ring: Platinum engagement ring with pavé diamonds on the band, featuring a 2.5-carat round centre diamond flanked by two smaller diamonds.
The ring has an added sophistication of pavé diamonds on the band to bring an additional dimension
Announcement: The Duke and Duchess of York announced the engagement of their eldest daughter Beatrice and family friend Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi on September 26, 2019. The couple got engaged during a weekend in Italy.
'We are extremely happy to be able to share the news of our recent engagement,' the couple said at the time. We are both so excited to be embarking on this life adventure together and can't wait to be married.
'We share so many similar interests and values and we know this will stand us in great stead for the years ahead, full of love and happiness.'
Zara Tindall: Value £60,000
Ring: Zara's ring showcases a 1.5 carat solitaire diamond with a four-claw split shoulder design which itself is set with several diamonds.
Announcement: It was on December 21, 2010, that Zara and Mike Tindall announced their engagement by posting a photograph of Zara's left hand resting on Mike's stomach. The former rugby player had been planning to propose for years but finally got down on bended knee when she was watching television. 'I had been thinking about it for ages, waiting to ask,' he later revealed, 'but then my brother got engaged, and so did a certain Duke of Cambridge.
'I was upstairs, plucking up the nerve to do it, while Zara was downstairs watching television. It was all about shock value – I wanted to catch her when it was quiet, and she wasn't expecting anything.
'And it definitely worked! 'She was completely in shock. Then, when she stopped laughing, she said, 'Yes.' That was a relief.' The couple got married at Canongate Kirk in Edinburgh the following July and now have three children Mia, Lena and Lucas.