For most of us, the members of the British House of Windsor family are some of the first individuals whom come to mind when discussing opulent engagement rings. That’s because of the British royal family’s long and very public history of giving and receiving beautiful engagement rings. While the entire family’s engagement history is a bit much for the scope of this blog post to cover, we’ve gathered some of the most impressive examples of engagement rings of Britain’s first family. Find your favorite in the list below.
The Duchess of Windsor
Regular readers of this blog may remember Wallis Simpson appearing in our last post documenting the most expensive private jewelry collections ever sold. One of the Duchess’ finest pieces of jewelry was, naturally, the engagement ring she received from King Edward VIII after he abdicated his throne. The gigantic Columbian emerald came in at just a smidgen under 20 carats and was set in a Cartier ring. It had the inscription “We are ours now 27.X.36.” The numbers represented the date of their engagement – the next day after Simpson’s divorce from her previous husband – and “We” symbolized Wallis and Edward.
Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother
When the Duke of York bent his knee he presented Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon with a sapphire ring that the queen said at the time was her favorite piece of jewelry. Paired with its diamond accents was a Welsh gold band. Interestingly, though, the Queen Mother switched from her original ring to one featuring a large pearl encircled by diamonds at some point during the 1950s. It’s unclear why she made this move, but switching rings is hardly uncommon for a member of the royal family.
Queen Elizabeth II
The overwhelming majority of Britain’s royal ladies have some color on their ring fingers – not Queen Elizabeth II, though. Her diamond and platinum ring is somewhat of an outlier, but it is nevertheless classically beautiful. Stones from one of Prince Philip’s mother’s tiaras were used to make the ring that the Queen still wears today in tandem with her Welsh gold wedding band.
Duchess of Cornwall
The Prince of Wales decided to use a ring that once belonged to his beloved grandmother, the Queen Mother, when he proposed to his second wife. The large emerald-cut diamond ring features baguettes on both sides, and it is believed to have been given as a gift to mark the birth of Queen Elizabeth, who was a princess at the time. Though the ring is surely of immense value, it seems to reflect light poorly and often doesn’t turn up well in photographs.
The Countess of Wessex
At the time it was given to her by Prince Edward, Sophie Rys-Jones’ engagement ring was said to be the most costly ever for the royal family. It was believed to be worth approximately £105,000 (which would be about $176,142.75 by today’s exchange rate). Whether it actually was the most expensive Windsor rock or not doesn’t change the fact that it is quite striking. The ring has a two-carat oval diamond with a heart-shaped diamond on either side of it and is set in white gold from Asprey and Garrard. To go with it she has a, unsurprisingly, Welsh gold wedding band; though she doesn’t always wear her wedding set anymore.
The Princess Royal
Princess Anne’s first husband, Mark Phillips, presented her with a classic-style engagement ring that had a sapphire flanked by a pair of diamonds. Perhaps the princess has a thing for sapphire, because second husband Tim Laurence proposed to her with a sapphire ring featuring a cabochon stone and a trio of diminutive diamonds on its sides.
Princess Michael of Kent
Princess Michael also received a sapphire ring from her prince, this one with a round sapphire and diamond. The ring is said to have been passed down from Princess Marina, who died 10 years prior to their marriage.
Diana, Princess of Wales and the Duchess of Cambridge
The late Lady Diana Spencer was given a large oval sapphire ring encircled by 14 round diamonds and set in white gold when the Prince of Wales proposed to her. The Garrard ring was not custom-made, which is unusual for a royal engagement ring. Despite lacking in uniqueness, the ring has gone on to become one of the most frequently copied ones in the world.
The original returned to the public eye in 2010, when Prince William gave it to Kate Middleton when the two became engaged in Kenya during a 10-day trip to the Lew Wildlife Conservancy to celebrate Prince William having passed his Royal Air Force search and rescue course. Just like Princess Diana did before her, Middleton wears the ring with her Welsh gold wedding band. The Duke and Duchess were married in April of 2011 at Westminster Abbey, with approximately 300 million watching live around the world.
Best CZ Jewelry
Everyone can’t be fortunate enough to be born or married into royalty. But you can still feel like a princess when you see the light-catching wonder of a high-quality cubic zirconia engagement ring on your ring finger. Few purchases in your life are as important as your engagement ring. Don’t settle for anything less than the best. Choose a precision-cut and hand-polished cz ring from Birkat Elyon.