In 2017, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle announced their engagement, and the royal family's official account posted their first official photos as bride and groom. Fans were able to get a good look at the former actress's engagement ring. And the most attentive noticed the similarity of its design with the engagement ring of another royal bride, whose wedding took place eight years before the engagement of the future Sussex.
This is a platinum ring from Garrard, the wife of Prince Edward, Sophie of Wessex. Its design with three diamonds - two carats in the center and two smaller ones (0.4 carats each, in the form of hearts) on the sides, clearly resembles the structure of Megan's jewelry.
"This design is known as the 'trilogy ring'," jewelry expert Charlotte White tells Express.co.uk. "The three central diamonds are believed to represent the past, present and future of the couple, making this engagement ring particularly romantic and symbolic." The Wessex expert estimates the jewelry at around £ 35,000 (however, according to other jewelers, the value of the ring can reach £ 100,000).
Edward presented this jewel to his wife in 1999. And a few months later, the couple got married at Windsor Castle (read also: Fate Repeat: Why Prince Edward Didn't Propose to Sophie for So Long).
Meghan's ring by Cleave and Company was originally designed by the groom, Prince Harry. In the center of the gold jewelry is a square five-carat diamond, and on the sides - two round ones, 0.75 carats each. The smaller stones Sussex took from the personal collection of his mother, the late Princess Diana. “So that she [Diana] will definitely be with us on this crazy journey,” Harry explained in an interview with the BBC. And the largest diamond comes from Botswana, where, according to rumors, the prince first realized that Megan is the woman with whom he wants to spend his life.
It is curious that in 2019 the design of the jewelry was updated: a scattering of small diamonds appeared on Megan's ring along the entire diameter. According to rumors, the idea of the upgrade belonged to the Duchess. However, journalists Omid Scobie and Carolyn Duran denied this in their book "In Search of Freedom", emphasizing that the improvement of jewelry is Harry's initiative. The cost of the final model of the Sussex ring, according to various estimates, ranges from £ 120,000 to £ 250,000 (see also: Evolution of Meghan's engagement ring: how it changed (and whether Harry was aware)).
Photo: Getty Images
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