British Royal Family Wedding Rings (Part Two)

Posted on May 17, 2017 by barbara

A few months ago I did an interesting post regarding the History of Wedding Rings throughout the centuries, for more information please click on the link. That was followed by a post focusing on the British Royal engagement and wedding rings of four Queens starting with Queen Victoria to the beloved Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother and the Duchess of Windsor, click on the link to see British Royal Family Wedding Rings (Part One)

In this post I will continue with the British Royal engagement and wedding rings starting with the current Queen Elizabeth II to the most recent Royal bride, Catherine Middleton.

Princess Elizabeth’s engagement ring – (the current Queen Elizabeth II)

In 1939 Princess Elizabeth took notice of her cousin Prince Phillip of Greece and Denmark while on a visit to the Naval Academy with her parents, he was an 18 years old naval cadet and she was the 13 year old heir presumptive to the throne of England. For the young Princess Elizabeth there was to be no other man that she wished to marry and she patiently waited until finally in 1947 Prince Phillip proposed and she gladly accepted. King George VI consented to the marriage with the stipulation that the engagement would not be officially announced until their return from a State Visit to South Africa because the Princess would have then reached the age of 21 years old.

Since Prince Phillip was considered a poor European royal he could not really afford an extravagant engagement ring. The story goes that Prince Philip’s mother, Princess Andrew of Greece, had shunned royal life after their exile during the Greco-Turkish War. Since that time she had joined an order of the Greek Orthodox Church and as a result she no longer possessed her royal jewelry. So, to solve the problem of selecting an engagement ring that would be worthy of Princess Elizabeth and her royal status, Prince Phillip used the diamonds from one of his mother’s tiaras and designed a platinum ring with a 3 carat diamond in the center and additional diamonds on either side.

Princess Elizabeth’s engagement ring

In November 1947, Princess Elizabeth and Prince Phillip were married at Westminster Abbey. Shortly thereafter Prince Phillip was given the title of Duke of Edinburgh. Then in 1952, with the death of her father King George VI, the Princess ascended to the throne and she became Queen Elizabeth II. Currently Queen Elizabeth has become the longest reign British Monarch in history and celebrated her Diamond Jubilee in 2012. In 2017 Queen Elizabeth and Prince Phillip will be celebrating their 70th wedding anniversary making them the longest married Royal couple in English history.

Princess Diana’s engagement ring (the Princess of Wales)

Perhaps one of the most iconic British Royal engagement rings in recent times has been Princess Diana’s stunning sapphire and diamond ring. What makes the ring unusual was that prior to this time most royal brides received a custom ring usually designed by the Royal Jewelers sometimes under the direction of the groom and made specifically for the bride. In this case, when Prince Charles proposed to Lady Diana Spencer in February 1981 he did not have an engagement ring prepared to give her. A selection of rings from Garrard Jewelers was brought to Buckingham Palace for Lady Diana to pick her own engagement ring.

The ring that Lady Diana picked was a large oval blue Ceylon sapphire that was surrounded by 14 diamonds and set in 18 karat white gold. What makes the choice interesting is that the ring was part of Garrard’s jewelry line and at the time anyone could have purchased the ring for the cost of $60,000. Special Note: Although most modern brides of the time preferred diamonds it was not unusual for a British Royal bride to select a colored stone and in fact Prince Charles grandmother, the beloved Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, had received a sapphire and diamond engagement ring back in 1923.

Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer were married in St. Paul’s Cathedral on July 29, 1981. The Prince and Princess of Wales had two children; Prince William in 1982 and Prince Henry “Harry” in 1984. The couple divided their time between Kensington Palace in London and Highgrove House near Tetbury located in the Cotswold district of Gloucestershire, England.

Princess Diana’s wedding ring (left) and
Prince Charles Prince of Wales signet ring (right)

Prince Charles did not wear an official wedding ring but he did wear a signet ring on the pinky finger of his left hand. The ring bears the mark of the Prince of Wales crest which is three distinct feathers above a crown. It is unsure as to whether he received the ring as part of his investiture in 1969. Special Note: After his divorce from Princess Diana in 1996 Prince Charles stopped wearing the ring while Princess Diana continued to wear her engagement ring until her tragic death in 1997. Prince Charles began wearing his signet ring again after his former wife’s death and he finally removed the ring just before the official engagement announcement to Camilla Parker-Bowles in 2005.

For more detailed information about Princess Diana’s jewelry collection which featured many more sapphire and diamond pieces to match her engagement ring, please check back to this blog in the coming months for a fantastic post about her jewelry.

Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall engagement ring

Much has been reported on the long relationship of Prince Charles and Camilla Shand and here is the brief story. The Prince and Camilla had first met in the early 1970s but Camilla eventually married Anthony Parker Bowles in 1973. In the following years the Prince was considered the world’s most eligible bachelor until 1981 when he married Princess Diana. Then a few years later, both the Prince and Camilla had divorced their first spouses, Camilla and her husband in 1995 while the Prince and Princess of Wales divorced in 1996. After Princess Diana died in 1997, Prince Charles was very adamant about his rekindled relationship with Camilla and it took several years of PR rehabilitation for the couple for the public to accept the situation. Finally in 2005 the determined couple announced their engagement.

Prince Charles gave Camilla a diamond ring which had originally belonged to his beloved grandmother, Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother who had passed away in 2002. It was not the Queen Mother’s engagement ring which was a sapphire ring as mentioned in a previous post. The ring was given to her by Queen Mary in 1926 on the birth of her first daughter, Princess Elizabeth (the current Queen Elizabeth II). Camilla’s engagement ring is designed in an art deco style and features a center emerald-cut diamond with three diamond baguettes on both sides.

Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall’s engagement ring

As required by the Royal Marriage Act, Queen Elizabeth granted her consent to the marriage. Because both Prince Charles and Camilla were previously married and divorced, the couple had a civil wedding ceremony held the Windsor Guildhall on April 9, 2005. Afterwards the couple greeted the crowds and then moved onto St. George’s Chapel for a blessing service performed by the Archbishop of Canterbury, a wedding reception followed the service at Windsor Castle.

Catherine Middleton’s engagement ring – (the current Duchess of Cambridge)

After the tragic death of Princess Diana, her sons were able to select from their mother’s possessions special mementos. Prince William chose his mother’s 18-karat yellow gold Cartier Tank Francaise watch; it was a sentimental choice because his mother had received the watch from her father, the Earl of Spencer. Prince Harry chose one of his mother’s most precious items of jewelry, her engagement ring.

Princess Diana wearing the Cartier tank watch and engagement ring

Prince William met Catherine Middleton in 2001 when both attended the University of St. Andrews in Scotland. The Prince was second in line to the British throne and Catherine was the eldest of three children of Michael and Carole Middleton. The couple began dating in 2003 and had broken up briefly in 2007 before getting back together.

Then in October 2010 the couple took a ten day trip to Kenya, Africa in part as a celebration for Prince William completing and passing his RAF helicopter search and rescue course. Unbeknownst to Catherine, the Prince was carrying his mother’s engagement ring in his backpack and was about to propose to her. Once the Prince had made this decision to marry Catherine, he had asked his brother for his mother’s ring and Prince Harry graciously complied. Catherine said yes to the proposal and she was surprised when Prince William pulled out Princess Diana’s engagement ring to place on her finger. Special Note: Since Princess Diana had worn the ring several additional prongs had been added to secure the large sapphire and the ring was also resized to fit Catherine’s finger.

The couple kept the engagement a secret until Clarence House made the announcement in November 2010. In an interview that day Prince William explained that it meant a lot to him to give the ring to Catherine and he also felt it was his way of “including” his mother into the wedding. The public reaction was that some people felt that it was a wonderful and sentimental gesture that the Prince chose to honor his mother in a special way. Others felt that the ring was somehow an unhappy symbol of his parent’s disastrous marriage. Regardless of the public opinion, Prince William and Catherine were very happy and excited for the wedding.

Catherine Middleton wearing her sapphire and diamond engagement ring

Since their wedding the couples have had two children, Prince George born in 2013 and Princess Charlotte in 2015. The couple divides their time between their home in Kensington Palace in London and their country home, Anmer Hall near Sandringham in Norfolk. (Additional note: Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge had a third child, Prince Louis was born 2018)

A Special British Royal Wedding Tradition

As mentioned in the previous post on Royal Engagement & Wedding Rings (Part One), at the time of Prince Albert (the future King George VI) and Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon (later Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother) engagement, the people of Wales gave the Royal couple a large nugget of Welsh gold from which Lady Elizabeth’s wedding ring would be made. In the years that followed, the same piece of Welsh gold had been traditionally used to make the wedding rings for several other British Royal brides; including the couple’s two daughters – Princess Elizabeth (later Queen Elizabeth II) in 1947 and Princess Margaret in 1960, also for Princess Diana who married Prince Charles (their grandson) in 1981, then Camilla Parker-Bowles when she married Prince Charles in 2005 and most recently for Catherine Middleton who married Prince William (their great-grandson) in 2011.

The Duchess of Cambridge wearing her engagement and wedding rings

Shown in the photo above the Duchess of Cambridge is wearing her sapphire and diamond engagement ring and her wedding ring made from the Welsh gold nugget. She is also shown in the photo wearing a third ring that was given to her by her husband after the birth of their second child, Princess Charlotte. The ring is set with diamonds encircling the band in a style known as an eternity ring

British Royal Family Wedding Rings (Part One)

Posted on April 4, 2017 by barbara

Previously I wrote an interesting post regarding the History of Wedding Rings throughout the centuries, for more information please click on the link. In this post I will focus on the British Royal engagement and wedding rings of four Queens and one famous Duchess. I will start with Queen Victoria’s unusual snake ring and finish with the engagement ring of the beloved Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother.

Queen Victoria’s engagement ring

Since 1837 when Queen Victoria ascended to the throne of England she had been pressured by her Prime Ministers to marry but she strongly resisted because she was finally enjoying her life of away from a domineering mother and the restrictions placed on her by the infamous “Kensington System”. All that changed in 1839 when Queen Victoria was reacquainted with her first cousin, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. She fell in love with the handsome Prince but because she was the Queen it would not be deemed improper for him to propose so protocol dictated that she needed to ask him. After this was accomplished and the engagement was officially announced, the Queen received a ring from Prince Albert that he had personally designed in the shape of a snake with emeralds eyes. The choice of gemstone was in keeping with the thoughtful custom of an engagement ring featuring the birthstone of the bride and in this case emerald was the Queen’s month of May birthstone. I know a snake ring sounds like a rather strange choice but at the time the snake had a romantic meaning and symbolized everlasting love.

An example of a snake ring similar in the style of Queen Victoria’s engagement ring

Queen Victoria and Prince Albert were married in February 1840. It has been considered one of the true royal love matches and they were happily married until the Prince untimely death in 1861. Historical records indicate that it is possible that the Queen was buried with her engagement ring along with several other personal and sentimental items, such as her bridal veil.

Princess Alexandra’s engagement ring – (later Queen Alexandra)

In 1861 shortly after the death of Prince Albert, Queen went into deep mourning. Despite this situation the Queen decided to proceed with the plans for her son, Prince Albert Edward, to marry the beautiful Princess Alexandra of Denmark. The engagement of the royal couple was announced in September 1862.

During the Victorian Era it was a popular custom to hide secret messages that only a loved one would understand, most often this was done in the form of special floral bouquets known as tussie-mussies. Using this same idea, gemstones were also used to spell out secret message in jewelry items. A wonderful example of this was the engagement ring that Princess Alexandra received from Prince Albert (the future King Edward VII). Since he was known as Bertie to his family, the ring spelled out this name by using the first letters of the gemstones – beryl, emerald, ruby, turquoise, jacinth (since no gemstone with an i was available at the time) and another emerald.

An example of a multi-stone ring
similar in the style of Princess Alexandra’s engagement ring

The wedding of Prince Albert and Princess Alexandra took place in March 1863. In the years that followed, the royal couple enjoyed an extravagant lifestyle hosting dinner parties at Marlborough House in London or entertaining at their large country estate, Sandringham. Despite the fact that the couple was devoted to each other and their children it did not stop the Prince from dalliances with his many mistresses. Then, after many years waiting as heir to the throne, Queen Victoria died in 1901 and Prince Albert became King Edward VII and the Princess became Queen Alexandra.

Princess May’s engagement ring – (later Queen Mary)

The interesting story about Princess Victoria Mary of Teck (known in the family as “May”) was that she had originally been engaged to Prince Albert Edward Victor, the grandson of Queen Victoria and the son of Prince Albert Edward (the future King Edward II). The royal couple’s engagement was announced in December 1891. Sadly “Eddy” (as he was known in the family) died of influenza only a few weeks later in January 1892.

Queen Victoria was known to be very concerned about the line of succession of the British Royal family and she often personally selected the prospective spouses of her children and grandchildren. In this case, she had grown very fond of Princess May. So, after a brief period of mourning the death of Prince Albert Edward Victor, the Queen strongly encouraged her other grandson, Prince George (the second son of Prince Albert Edward), to marry his deceased brother’s former fiancé. The Prince duly proposed to the Princess and the engagement was announced in late 1892. This is not as bad as it sounds and after their wedding in 1893 Prince George and Princess May became a truly devoted couple (eventually the couple became King George V and Queen Mary in 1910).

In regards to the engagement ring of Princess May, there is very little information as to whether the ruby ring she often wore was from her first engagement or her second engagement. Adding to the confusion was the fact that the Princess received a marquise-cut diamond and rubies ring from her father-in-law as a wedding present.

An example of a ring similar to Princess May’s diamond and ruby ring

Wallis Simpson’s engagement ring – (later Duchess of Windsor)

Prince Edward, known as “David” in the family, ascended to the British throne as King Edward VIII after the death of his father King George V in January 1936. But there was soon controversy caused by his scandalous relationship with the twice divorced Wallis Simpson. The new King was deeply in love with her but this situation lead to a constitutional crisis because the Church of England did not recognize marriage to a divorced person. It was possible that he could enter into a morganastic marriage but Wallis could never be crowned Queen. This was unacceptable to the King and after months of intense negotiations in trying to reach a solution to this problem the British Parliament denied approval to the marriage. Ultimately, the King was forced to abdicate and thereby renouncing all claims to the throne in order to marry the women that he loved.

The fact is that the King had formally proposed to Wallis in October 1939 prior to his abdication. He had fully intend to proceed with his plan to marry Wallis regardless the outcome of the British Parliment. The engagement ring that he gave Wallis when he proposed was a stunning 19.77 carat emerald ring by Cartier. (Special Note: Later in 1958, Wallis had the ring redesigned by Cartier and the original emerald was placed into a more modern setting of yellow gold surrounded by diamonds)

Wallis Simpson’s engagement ring

After his abdication the former King moved to France and he was given the title of Duke of Windsor. The Duke married Wallis Simpson in June 1937, she became the Duchess of Windsor but was denied the formal title and privileges of a Royal Highness.

Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon’s engagement ring – (later Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother)

Shortly after World War I, Prince Albert, the second son of Prince George and Princess May) meet the charming Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon. The Prince became quickly smitten and over the next several years he proposed to her several times until she finally accepted in January 1923.

Prince George selected an engagement ring that featured a large Kashmir sapphire with two diamonds on either side in a platinum setting. After the engagement, the people of Wales gave the Royal couple a large nugget of Welsh gold from which Lady Elizabeth’s wedding ring would be made. Special Note: The same piece of Welsh gold has been traditionally used to make the wedding rings for several other British Royal brides; including the couple’s two daughters – Princess Elizabeth (later Queen Elizabeth II) in 1947 and Princess Margaret in 1960, also for Princess Diana who married Prince Charles (their grandson) in 1981 and most recently for Catherine Middleton who married Prince William (their great-grandson) in 2011.

The Duchess of York wearing her sapphire engagement ring

Prince Albert and Lady Elizabeth married in a grand ceremony at Westminster Abbey in April 1923; afterwards they were given the title of Duke and Duchess of York. The royal couple lived happily together dividing their time between a home in London and Royal Lodge at Windsor.

In 1936, after the abdication crisis, the royal couple became King George VI and Queen Elizabeth. Together they showed their strong character as England entered World War II. Sadly, perhaps as a result of the stress and increased workload during the war, the King’s health took a turn for the worst and he died in February 1952.

Queen Elizabeth, later to become known as the Queen Mother, began to wear a large pearl and diamond ring instead of her sapphire engagement ring. (Special Note: There is no documentation as to what happened to the engagement ring and its whereabouts are currently unknown)

A photo of the Queen Mother wearing her pearl and diamond ring

The Queen Mother lived for 50 more years after the death of her husband; she was 101 years old when she died in March 2002.

For more additional information on the other British Royal Family Wedding Rings, please click on Part Two.

An Elegant Bride

An Elegant Bride

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British Royal Family Wedding Rings (Part Two)

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