For years and years, we’ve heard the story about Prince Harry “inheriting” his mother’s famous sapphire engagement ring. It was said that, as a boy, Harry selected the sapphire-and-diamond ring and kept it for years, up until Prince William asked for it in 2010 so he could propose to then-Kate Middleton. There have been variations of the story, like William “picking it up” from Harry and carrying it in his pocket or backpack, or that William didn’t give up anything in exchange for the ring. In Spare, Harry writes about a trip he took with William to Lesotho in 2010, a trip where they went on adventures and checked in with Sentebale’s work. They returned to the UK and this is what Harry writes:
Soon after we returned to Britain the Palace announced that Willy was going to marry. November 2010.
News to me. All that time together in Lesotho, he’d never mentioned it. The papers published florid stories about the moment I realized Willy and Kate were well matched, the moment I appreciated the depth of their love and thus decided to gift Willy the ring I’d inherited from Mummy, the legendary sapphire, a tender moment between brothers, a bonding moment for all three of us, and absolute rubbish: none of it ever happened. I never gave Willy that ring because it wasn’t mine to give. He already had it. He’d asked for it after Mummy died, and I’d been more than happy to let it go.
[From Spare by Prince Harry]
That’s one of hundreds of tossed-off fact-checks in the book but I loved the way he just spit out that story. William didn’t even tell Harry that his engagement would be announced soon! I wonder if the Lesotho trip was part of William’s African travels that fall, when he claims to have proposed to Kate in Kenya? If Harry knows, he didn’t say. But I did find the part about the ring fascinating, that William always had it. I wonder if Harry always had Diana’s “freedom ring,” her large aquamarine cocktail ring, which he gave to Meghan.
Judging from what we’ve seen the brothers’ wives wear, Kate got Diana’s full sapphire suite, a particularly gaudy pair of pearl-and-diamond earrings and tons more. Meanwhile, Meghan got some of Diana’s less expensive pieces, like a pair of butterfly earrings, a few simple bangles, a diamond bracelet and the aquamarine.
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Glad the air is cleared about that. Though I am curious about why Harry was “happy to let it go.” Bad memories, bad marriage, or bad juju, I think he made a wise choice.
And it’s really ugly.
Diana’s ring was not ugly IMO. it just was part of a marriage that did not last.
My guess is being young and not really caring much or thinking about the future and what it would mean. His brother specifically wanted it so let him have it type situation.
Well i have to say that i don’t particularly find the ring pretty. So harry definitely made the right choice.
I feel like he makes a comment at one point about it being cursed or something, but I could be making that up.
Regardless, its clear he didn’t have any sentimental attachment to that ring and I can’t really blame him. I think its weird that William gave it to Kate as an e-ring. I feel like I might have held onto it for a gift for a daughter or something, or for a son to use – it seems like letting another generation pass would have lessened the bad luck or something.
Better for his daughter. A son could give his fiancee that ring,
Harry does not say anything about it being cursed in the book. He just said he was happy to let William have it.
I wouldn’t wear Diana’s ring for superstitious reasons. Bad juju. There’s no love tied to it (“whatever that is”)
Additionally, that sapphire is part of the English colonial looting enterprise of Sri Lanka. It’s jinxed as hell.
Are you sure @Sugarhere? I thought I read that Diana chose that ring out of a jeweler’s catalog and it irked the RF that she didn’t pick something in their vast collection (of stolen and looted stones).
@THEVOLVESSEIDR: You’re absolutely right. Maybe I got a bit carried away thinking of the documented child labor and near-slavery working conditions in the Sri Lankan mine where that one-of-a-kind sapphire was extracted.
I think of it as post colonial exploitation because the purchase only benefited the mining company, the government, and the Canadian broker. To me, this ring is a blood sapphire, but interpretations “may vary” 😉
My theory differs from everyone’s. I think Harry didn’t inherit much, not even from his mother because he is/was the spare. The only thing that was split fairly was the divorce money because this Diana left in her will that it should be divided equally between her kids and also because this money involved lawyers etc. Otherwise, I have a strong belief that Harry was denied a lot of stuff because he was the spare.
Diana divorced Charles. What she walked away with was hers from then on. What she did or didn’t leave to the boys was her decision, not the crowns.
That’s not true. Diana left Harry more liquid money in his trust than she did will bc she knew Billy would have the duchy money.
None of us really knows what Harry got and didn’t get. Unless Harry addresses that himself, the rest is just tabloid garbage, just like the “Harry chose the Sapphire ring and Will took it from him to give to Kate”. A lot was also said about how the queen mother left Harry so much money because Will would once inherit as the heir blah, blah, blah, till Harry debunked those untruths too. It could well be that when Diana died, Charles and his henchmen went to Kensington palace and took all the valuables they wanted to take (leaving the rest to be “stolen” by the butler) and divided it among the boys in whichever way they wanted, or even took back whatever they felt they didn’t feel like giving to the boys. Unless one works at C-rex-3, they can’t say with certainty what happened or didn’t happen with Diana’s jewels. The money was reported that Diana left in her will that both boys should get equal shares.
I always remember a story at the time of Diana’s death that the queen was very concerned that Diana may have had some jewels in her possession that belonged to the crown and was anxious that they be recovered and returned. Whether that’s true or not, I don’t know, but that’s what I remember hearing from that time.
Diana left a will which did not say most would go to william.it was divided equally it was her own property
I think that Harry as the Spare would have likely gotten jewelry of Diana’s that wasn’t attached to the crown. Notice that most if not all of the jewelry that Meghan has that was Diana’s are items Diana purchased after the divorce. William as the heir would have access to jewelry that is the crown’s because eventually he would become king. IMO Harry won yet again despite the royal family’s pettiness. His wife was blessed with a ring with more sentimental value and emotional connection to their actual love story. Then on top of that their is still the connection of Diana with the two diamonds from one of her bracelets. A man loving his wife with his whole chest and showing it with his wedding ring design and planning trumps a man who gave a woman who has been waiting for ten years a ring that has been sitting in a vault for over a decade. I can’t help but think about how Harry and Meghan revealed in the documentary how the engagement interview was basically scripted for them not to tell their real love story and now these revelations in the memoir make it even more clear how the same was likely the case with Will and Kate. It never made sense that Harry gave William this ring but they never explained what Harry got in exchange, if anything. The story always seemed disjointed.
That’s not how it happened. Diana’s will had nothing to do with the palace, and she never would have treated them differently based on the heir/spare nonsense. They each got different things, but it was fairly divided.
Didn’t Meghan also get the Cartier watch?
It’s seems like Meghan got the more timeless pieces.
The jewelry looked fine on Diana. They were probably chosen by her BECAUSE they looked fine on her. That doesn’t mean they look fine on Kate, because they don’t. Kate doesn’t really have “Kate” jewelry (and what few she has are tacky, like her wedding earrings or her Van Cleef and Arpels necklace). She only has “Diana’s jewelry” or “the queen’s jewelry” which I think is why they look so bad on her.
The simpler, classic pieces from Diana suit Meghan much better. She really “won” in the jewelry department.
Meghan won in every department, especially the spouse one.
Yes, Kate’s jewelry from William is shite including big blue. He could have at least reset with with just the center stone and a trillion on each side (at 1.5-2 carats each).
Her VCA set is gorgeous b/c it’s classic VCA, not because she designed it. The rest is crap from kiki McDonough and the like.
The jewelry is wasted on Kate. Kate does not know how to accessorize. Just looking at that photo of the cream dress (which is actually nice) with that necklace…you don’t pair a necklace with a boat neck dress Kate.
She’s never been able to wear jewelry properly. She always way overdoes it and doesn’t know the difference between daytime and nighttime pieces.
It symbolizes your parents’ failed marriage, why would you want it? And, even if you did, why would you use it as an engagement ring again? Perhaps Will not mentioning his marriage has less to do with his relationship to Harry and more to say about his relationship with Kate. People who are excited about being engaged babble it to everybody. So PH didn’t even overhear Will telling other friends, co-workers, etc. Doesn’t say much for Will’s enthusiasm.
Exactly this. And why would Kate want it? I mean we know why Kate wanted it – she wants to be Diana 2.0. But the woman was terrorized and died a tragic death. Why would you want the symbol of your husband’s parent’s terrible marriage on your finger all the time? Other than to say you have the ring. Which is exactly why she wears it. And Will gave it to her because he didn’t care- and knew she would love it. He had to put zero to minimum effort in.
William gave as much thought to the ring he gave the woman he married as his father did, giving it to Diana.: NONE. Charles just order a “tray” of rings to be shown to Diana, and she said in her book, she chose the biggest one on the tray (which Charles bitched about because of the cost).
William didn’t put any more thought into it other than he had it. He didn’t reset it, reposition it… nothing. He *could’ve* made it into a pendent and giving Kate a different sapphire ring, but no…couldn’t be bothered.
Compare these two to Harry, who sourced Meg’s ring’s main stone, and chose (or had chosen) two smaller stones from a bracelet of Diana’s.
What a difference!
I read a theory once about why william wanted that ring. It said that he asked for it because if he gave it to his fiancée, one day this ring would be on the queen’s throne like it should’ve been. I though it was a really nice romantic spin on Diana’s story and i guess, one day it will be true, if he doesnt divorce her!
Camilla became Charles wife, she is the one who sat on the throne. I am questioning now if William will keep his promise of restoring Diana’s HRH when he’s King. I am rather doubtful of this now. Kate will sit on the throne not the ring. If the monarchy continues after Charles…
I agree & I do remember how upset Diana was that she would be losing her HRH (because her sons had it) & she told the story that William told het “don’t worry mummy when I am King I will give it back to you “ it was sweet & it came directly from Diana. Say what you will of them as men but they both loved her dearly
William has changed though. He called his own mother paranoid. He is getting establishment. And he censors Diana’s Bashir interview, and Diana did want to get her message out. Time will tell how he behaves when he becomes King.
@Equality Yep. Add in how completely wasted Willy got the night before his wedding and it adds up to a man who didn’t want to get married (or didn’t want to get married to Kate).
Not only did he get wasted he also looked like he hadn’t slept a wink. According to Spare his eyes were red when harry saw him the next morning. At first I thought that maybe he was plagued with memories of his mother the night before the wedding and actually cried because he missed her. But when I add up all the stories about william and kate over the years plus when i look at their courtship, something tells me william never actually wanted to get married but felt like he had to. So maybe he felt like he would now be trapped forever
At the time of the wedding it was either reported that William hadn’t slept that night or had only had 2 or 3 hrs sleep. Can’t remember which.
It was also reported that william got cold feet at the altar and Harry rushed him off to a side room to talk to him about it.
A witness who was at the wedding, who obviously hadn’t heard the above story, confirmed it, by saying he saw Harry and William going off to a side room and William “looked terrified”.
Another report was that during the first dance at the reception william said “F#%*& this, let’s play something fast”. Although later in the evening they both danced to you’re the one that I want, as a performance with all the guests watching, and everyone cheered.
I don’t know if that story is true or not.
But there was another incident where William was with his friends somewhere and he was drunk. A local musician was performing and William complained he wanted something faster. So his friend stood up and said something like “stop this rubbish, the prince wants rock music” .
I wasn’t able to sleep the night before I got married because I was so excited, and that was just for a civil ceremony at city hall. However, I vowed to be faithful to my spouse (and vice versa) and am happy when I’m with him. Willy — is not those things.
i took it that he went on a night out with his boys…harry excluded.
@Amerrah yes Diana said this was how she got her ring, Charles chose all the ones which were presented het & she chose the sapphire.
Yes exactly. That ring was bought by a selfish man for a woman he was not in love with. It fits William’s marriage much better than H&M. I wouldn’t want that legacy either.
Diana was presented several rings to choose from & she said she selected the sapphire “because it was the biggest & looked best on her finger”
@Snappyfish according to who? Is this something Diana said herself?
There are a number of stories about how Diana got her ring. The “biggest and best” story was from Charles’s camp. Garrard’s says Charles picked it out. And other more objective sources say Diana liked it because it reminded her of her mother. In any case, even if the “biggest and best” story was true, it makes no difference to Liz Version 700’s point.
There was a part in the book where Harry refers to him and William possibly being the only men who ever loved Diana. That broke my heart that her son knew that his father never truly loved his mother.
@Equality, this could definitely be veering into tinfoil tiara territory, but I wouldn’t be at all shocked if William himself didn’t even know while they were in Lesotho that the announcement would be made so soon.
I can absolutely see a scenario in which William was set off by something after they got home, and decided to make the announcement impulsively— assuming he already had the Queen’s permission (he was with Kate for so long, and we know that Charles had conversations with him about marrying her, so I wouldn’t be surprised at all if he already had the Queen’s permission, but kept stringing Kate along until HE felt like taking the leap).
IDK, for some reason I find it totally plausible that they got home, something pissed William off, and his reaction was, “FINE, I’LL DO IT” and then he gave everyone as little notice as possible just to wield his power over this one thing he had control over. (Calling Harry beforehand to let him know before the rest of the world likely never even crossed his mind, because he’s a POS, and Harry’s feelings wouldn’t be something he’d even consider.)
He knew that Kate saying yes was a given (LOL), so as long as he’d already asked the Queen, I can absolutely see him making a rash decision that he knew would catch Charles off guard and force everyone to scramble around in order to accommodate him.
Again, totally tinfoil tiara material! But it’s so in keeping with what we know about Willy’s character: to be as much of a dick as possible at every turn, and a track record of impulsive behavior. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
@Ameerah, Kate is so dim that she probably just thought “I’M getting DIANA’S ring!!” and failed to think any further about the awful history that came along with the ring. And CarolE was probably beside herself with glee. Harry was smart enough to stay away from the cursed thing (which I also think is ugly, @Tacky!).
At the time there was an article that said William was marrying the wrong woman, was still in love with Jecca and had been ordered to marry before the queens jubilee. It said history was repeating itself, as prince Charles had been “bullied” into marrying Diana even though “camilla was the only woman he ever really loved” .
Before that a courtier had been asked if William would marry Kate and he said “he has to, it would be another embarrassment for the palace if he” broke up with her after being with her for so long.
That wasn’t actually true. The British public mostly couldn’t stand Kate and most people would have been delighted if he’d broken up with her and married somebody else.
At the time of the wedding she seemed to be popular with Americans and people from other countries who hadn’t been reading about her for 9 years and didn’t know her history. But she was never popular in Britain.
I never bought into Charles spin that he was bullied into marrying Diana. He was 32 and needed heirs Camilla encouraged the match since she thought Diana would turn a blind eye re Charles involvement with Camilla. William settled for Kate who waited for 10 years for the proposal.
Supposedly William proposed to Kate when in Kenya, but if Harry was in Lesotho with William and then got home and heard about the engagement not long after, it does seem though William might not have proposed in Kenya seeing as how at the time their story sounded exactly like the proposal story of one of their friends and where Kate slipped and made it sound like they told her parents when they were in Scotland. Really doubt she would keep that quiet from Kenya to Scotland.
I mean, this was some very detailed, specific fiction. What are the odds that the RR dreamed that up all by themselves?! There are staffers/courtiers tasked with conjuring entire, fictional storylines that have actually become accepted RF lore. It’s astounding.
Yes, just as the Omid Scobie tweet earlier, there were “sources” who fed him stories to try and make the establishment look better. This is likely a case of that as well.
The story of Harry having the ring is directly from Paul Burrell. In his book, he spun up an emotional story of how each of the boys took something of Diana‘s. How Harry took Diana‘s ring because he remembered it from when he held “mummy’s hand” and William took Diana’s watch. No surprise it is total fiction just like everything else they Burrell has served up.
@Amyb
Isn’t it the other way around? I thought Harry gave Meghan Diana’s watch, or maybe one that was very similar to the one she had.
I don’t recall BullyWill giving Kate Diana’s watch.
@Tacky, I don’t find the ring ugly per say but I don’t like it either.
Haha. So much for William the Romantic. I think Harry has more Diana jewelry that Meghan has chosen not to wear for self preservation and probably style choices. I love how he’s tearing down these carefully crafted and distorted narratives about the supposedly superior senior royals. FAFO indeed!
Diana’s big stuff was peak 80s, and NOT in a good way. Pearls, colored gems, matching sets, gaudy everything,
I don’t fault Meghan one bit for avoiding all that.
It’s also simply not meghans style. But i do wonder if she has more of diana’s personal collection. I think kate has diana’s sapphires and pearls but maybe meghan has her amethyst suite? And other pieces?
Diana’s big stuff is a) not really Meghan’s taste and 2) lots of it has shady provenance: Saudis, Qataris–the big sapphire suite is Saudi. Kate wears the earrings but, wonder of wonders, she was never called out for the Saudi provenance unlike Meghan–I wonder why??
A lot of Diana’s big jewelry was also royal loans–the emeralds that Kate wore that landed with a big thud, a bunch of the diamond necklaces. A Prince of wales feather pendant became a brooch that Cowzilla wore, and then Kate wore in the Funerals R Us picture.
I wonder who has the charm bracelet–Diana had a charm bracelet with charms related to William and Harry, with koalas (I think Charles gave it to her in Australia). She stopped wearing it after the marriage soured, but it’s an intensely personal piece.
I think Meghan also has Diana’s Cartier tank watch.
Yes, Meghan does have the Cartier tank as well as her own. I wonder if she also has the blue topaz and pearl bracelet that’s a match to the topaz ring. And more and more, I’m thinking that William has Diana’s magnificent sapphire and pearl choker since Kate has most of Diana’s sapphires, but we have yet to see Kate wearing it. That’s such an iconic piece.
@Lanne:The Saudi and Qatari jewelry belong to the Royal vault. Diana got to wear them because they were wedding gifts but they didn’t belong to her.
Kate likes all of Diana’s “Princess of Wales” jewelry. I have yet to see her be interested in cosplaying Diana after her divorce or in her private life.
So just like they fed stories about how the boys loved Camilla, they also fed lies about how Harry loved Kate and saw how in love they were.
Harry did not see how in love they were. He wasn’t so excited to have Kate as a sister.
Well harry does say that he liked kate and that he was happy for his brother so
Early on in the marriage and early in his book Harry spoke well of them. Harry was being gracious, but he did make his feelings known about Kate when he talked about her rudeness to Meghan. He did say Kate laughed at the Nazi outfit, so he was not entirely complimentary in the “early years.”
@Chloe, yes, I also got the impression that he liked Kate right up until Meghan came along.
I think he liked Kate well enough but I got the impression she changed after the wedding. Harry was so convinced he was going to be invited over to 1A, for example, and he never was. Maybe that was all William, but Kate went along with it.
and then she definitely changed when Meghan came on the scene (or, it was the first time Harry saw her interact with female competition.) I think that’s why Harry didnt “prepare” Meghan for meeting Kate – the way Kate behaved around Meghan was not what Harry was used to from her.
Meghan’s taste has always tended toward more delicate and meaningful pieces. What she got suits her, including the beautiful freedom ring. I know she has a Cartier watch that she bought for herself, but I think she also has one from Diana?
Yes, she does.
So did Harry learn about the engagement through the press as in William never personally told him? Or am I misunderstanding?
That’s the impression I got. Just like how he learned of his grandmother’s death.
I suspect Harry knew about the overall engagement, but “we’re telling the world on Tuesday” never came up. (Which, even that, is quite sad. You’d hope your loved ones would be bursting at the seams to talk about it, but given both of their experiences with press intrusion, I can see why the world finding out isn’t the instant joy it would be for a normal person.)
Harry talked about the very long, very bureaucratic process of getting married in the royal family. William would have had to jump though even more hoops, both between him and Kate, and throughout the Firm. Likely a weeks to months long process.
Harry specifically wonders why William would not have told him about the engagement while they were both in Lesotho. He doesn’t say he was just waiting for the announcement. He didn’t know about the proposal. The excerpt above makes that pretty clear.
Kkkhate should keep her left hand plastered to her left cheek whenever she’s “working” so that Big Blue is shown off all the time.
I personally would never have accepted that ring of doom.
I’ve always thought it was KM (and her mother) that suggested to W how ‘nice’ it would be to give the ring to her. The nonsense W spouted at their engagement interview about said ring most likely originated with Carol Middleton.
I have a theory about that (which I think I’ve posted before?): Kate’s “jazz hands” posing is because she is trying to get the ring into all her photos.
So many lies told to us about Bill and Harry’s relationship and so much shade thrown by Harry by telling the actual truth. It’s sad that Bill gave Katy the remnants from his mother’s failed and sad marriage. Meghan received gifts from a free and renewed Diana. I know she had her struggles but Diana was living on her own terms without being disrespected and humiliated by that trash King Charles.
Bill couldn’t even do the bare minimum when it came to a proposal of marriage. Pathetic.
It is rather funny that kate has the 80’s and trapped diana pieces while meghan has been seen with the 90’s and free diana pieces. It is also funny that both of those styles suit the ladies to a T. Diana’s gaudy 80’s jewelry is right up kate’s street meanwhile the more polished and sleek looks from the 90’s is more Meghans style.
OMG I love this observation. You’re right – Kate has the unhappy Diana pieces and Meghan has the independent “free” Diana pieces. She’s far more free than Diana, taking off where Diana left off. I like that metaphor a lot.
Then I am assuming Harry got Diana’s watch originally, not William.
Meghan has worn it often.
The engagement story was always sketchy. Same exact proposal as Will’s friend. Even if he did propose in Africa, how lazy to copy the proposal. However, there’s a moment in the engagement interview where a call to Kate’s parents is mentioned, like that happened in Scotland. Kate would wait that long to call her mother? Just nope.
I also think the real Diana ring is in the vault somewhere and Kate got a copy. No way “Diana’s ring” goes ziplining in the jungle, sailing or stuck into bread dough with the scouts, all while it’s spinning around on Kate’s finger. The real ring has too much value by association. A copy would be cheap to make. Whether Kate thinks it’s “the ring” or not, who knows? She’s very careless with it either way.
The Diana comparisons out of the royal rota started early. Small things, like Kate’s height, was exaggerated to put her closer to Diana’s height. When she takes off her sky high heels, which she doesn’t do very often, and stands next to Will, you can see her true height is inches shorter.
Lazy rich people do crazy shit in fancy jewelry all the time. There’s insurance and jewelers recreate the list or damaged piece. Do you think these people have the same attachment to Diana’s personal items that her fans do?
I remember talking with a critic once who was appalled that the children of a famous director didn’t know the behind the scenes stories of the making of his early films. I asked him how much he knew about his father’s work and coworkers. Their relationship was real not parasocial. I didn’t say that, it was before that term was around.
William and Harry being in Lesotho together and the engagement announcement happening not long after really doesn’t match the Kenya proposal story. I agree they likely copied a fancier proposal and likely have her the ring in Scotland when the call was made.
There is a photo out on Twitter showing Kate standing next to Michelle Obama and Michelle is much much taller than Kate. Michelle is listed at almost 5’11 and Kate is allegedly 5’10 but there is way more than one inch height difference. It tends to suggest kate is maybe 5’8.
(Both have heels on and Michelle doesn’t wear the stilettos that kate does)
Kate most likely wears a replica on certain engagements, but that doesn’t mean the real one isn’t hers to wear. Rich people often wear replicas for day to day, and I bet the royals do the same as well
When K&W’s engagement was announced I felt bad for her, thinking I would want my own engagement ring. It was William being cheap and unimaginative. Had it been offered to me to wear on my right hand, well, that’s a different story, and I would have loved it. As an engagement ring, it represents a failed marriage.
When I divorced in my late 40s, I brought my two rings to a jeweler and had them melted into a new and beautiful ring. I added small sapphires and wore it on my right hand. Problem solved!
Unrelated but the pictures chosen in this piece show me that kate should stay far away from the smokey eye look.
Meghan got Diana’s gold Cartier watch, too. And appears to wear it very often!
Why did the Palace feel the need to make up this story? William having the ring since he was 15 is a better story.
@Amy Bee, right? I know we constantly say “they’re so bad at this,” but they’re SO cluelessly inept that they apparently need to actively take a sincerely sweet story and find a way to twist it around just to lie to the public.
Lying is their job description, it is the reason they are employed. “You need to hire us because we tell the truth” is a much harder sell, anybody can tell the truth!
I was trying to make this point upthread but I must have done it poorly because it went sideways.
It seems obvious to me that somebody wanted the public to see W was so obviously in love with Kathy so much so that Harry sacrificed the ring to William in awareness of this “Great Love Story.”
Also highlights kate being a beloved sister to Harry so much that he thought she deserved his mothers ring.
It was a fairy tale of a blinding love. Imagine if we’d heard such stories about Meghan, that William saw how much Harry loved her so he gifted Harry with Diana’s ring. It’s a powerful piece of propaganda.
Where did it even come from in the first place? It’s something everyone accepted as true because it sounds fairly believable – but also not the sort of thing that you’d instantly think up – “oooh Harry must have had the ring and given it to William when he asked for it.” It’s just as likely – probably more likely given he’d have more memories of his parents together – that William would choose the ring. It’s so weirdly detailed. I’d love to know if someone misunderstood something, or if someone was writing fanfic that grew legs, or if someone (but who?!?) just flat out made it up.
Someone above said Paul Burrell wrote in a book that Harry took the ring and William took the watch.
If it was the other way around it was probably just Burrell remembering it wrongly.
The watch William allegedly took was a patek philippe. Kate has worn a yellow gold one and I think this may be the watch that William chose after Diana’s death. It was a watch that had been given to Diana by her parents. The Cartier watch was a later acquisition by Diana.
Poor little Harry he was only 12 or so he wouldn’t have the understanding of the importance of the ring. And seeing it probably brought such pain as a reminder of her being gone. But slick Willy did. He tricked him out of it. Harry may have felt diffrently about it if he had made that choice at a more mature age. They are all so gross.
Meghan also has worn Diana’s Cartier tank watch
It’s pretty common in my family that the first born inherits the wedding rings of relatives, if they want it. If not, next in line. Not as if we had tons of jewelry tho.
My daughter has no interest in jewelry at all.
Big Blue is so iconic tho.
If I was Kate I would have rather had my own choice of ring.
Plus Big Blue didn’t bring Diana much happiness in her marriage. Bad mojo.
Who inherited The Queens wedding set? I would think Anne, no?
I would love to see a chart with one column for all the lies told by the tabloid trash, royal sources, royal insiders, etc. The other column setting out Harry’s truth completely contradicting each and every lie. It would be a magnum opus.
Every human who ever stood in the same room with Diana seems to have sold a story or written a book.
Decades on after her passing, Diana still fascinates. Her life after divorce showed she was strong, was finding a way to her own life.
Meghan is more Diana-like vs. Kate.
Meghan worked, became a self-made millionaire.
Kate seems to have only wanted to be married to William, stay in her lane.
If The Monarchy had been smart they would have capitalized on H&M, & kept W&K as the traditional ones. Win-Win.
They have bungled things so very badly, by the time William has a chance to be King, I think the Firm will be long out of business.
Kate didn’t seem to only want to be married to William. William is irrelevant. What Kate wanted was the title. It really didn’t matter who was heir.
The pearl and diamond earrings, gaudy???
Diana had quite a few Pearl and diamond earrings, I think the “gaudy” ones referred to are the ones with the horseshoe stud and south sea Pearl drop that Diana wore to her last official engagement. Kate has swapped out the pearls for better, smaller pearls that belong to, I believe, a pair of Ruby and diamond earrings but I still think they are pretty gaudy!
If William and Kate had the pearls with the sapphire choker she would have worn it already. I don’t think they have it. But is not really Meghan’s style – I would love to see it again though
I always wondered what happened to the pearl and gold heart necklace that Diana reportedly received from Charles after William’s birth. Also the gold watch she had from her father that she wore often.
I’m going to be catty and read the “all of it rubbish” as also extending to how “well matched” Bill and Cathy are, and how much they love each other lolololol.
Also that photo of Kate in the vest, holy moly, i had to look twice because she looks so leathery. I know that’s mean and I’m sorry! But like when all your pics are photoshopped and blurred and filtered to heck and back bc of the blood pact you have with the press, and then a less touched up or untouched up pic gets loose, it’s going to be a real stark contrast lol.
It is an ugly ring. It looks uncomfortable to wear. Keep it!
I read this passage a little differently, I don’t see it being inconsistent with the story that the two boys each selected one or more pieces of Diana’s jewelry shortly after her death, with Harry getting Diana’s Sapphire ring. Harry says he was happy to let it go. That says to me that at some point it was his to give to William.
I think the boys did select jewelry, with Harry getting the sapphire ring and then William, a short time later,asked Harry for the ring and Harry gave it up. This is not inconsistent with William’s apparent belief that he can push around the Spare to no end and demand whatever he wants.
Also, with respect to the funds that each boy received from their mother, it is very clear that the money was equally divided. Diana’s will and testament and addendum are online for anyone to read.
As far as the jewelry goes it was to have been divided between the two boys with the executors making the division at their discretion (this may have been revised by the court when the court screwed over the godchildren of diana, see below). As I have stated in the past, I am not sure that the division has actually happened yet.
You can also read that Diana clearly intended for 1/3 of her chattels to go to her godchildren and they were screwed over by the executors of her estate, namely Diana’s own mother and older sister. They got the court to basically obviate that addendum. At the time it was said that her sister delivered to each godchild some really cheap piece of tat for them to remember Diana.
You’re missing a very crucial part where Harry says he never gave his brother that ring because it wasn’t his to give. He then adds that William has had the ring since Diana died, when he asked for it. Harry didn’t care that William wanted the ring. He was ok with letting it go to William.
@Mary, what part of Harry saying, ‘absolute rubbish’, ‘never happened’ and ‘it wasn’t mine to give’. Harry is pretty clear. ‘Letting it go’ doesn’t mean it was something of his. It meant it was something Harry wasn’t concerned about wanting in the first place. It was a story put out by the BM/BRF to exhault Kate’s importance to the family. And possibly Harry’s acceptance of her. Absolute rubbish are his words.
Ack, you can go on and on about what Diana’s sister and mother may have done as executors of her will. The one thing that cannot be denied is Charles Spenser creating Dianaland and the tackiness of it all (using her clothing, jewelry, diary and everything to fill his coffers).
The rota, spurred on by whatever/whoever, has really been trying to make Harry Kate’s second husband since forever. I think this is part of that.
Yes and the way he explains the florid story of giving the ring to exemplify their love and then says it’s all hogwash could be extended to apply to the W and K love story as well. It can be read both ways
Much of Diana’s pre-divorce jewelry belonged to the estate and was returned after the divorce. Through William, Kate has access to the estate jewels. Remember the tabloid story about William not wanting Meghan to wear his mother’s jewelry? Meghan purchased her carrier watch shortly after she joined Suits. She said she would engrave her name inside if she ever had a baby girl. So I guess Lilibet Diana has two Cartier watches.
Sapphire and diamonds outshine stars in an evening sky. That style of ring is more like what a lady wears to an elaborate evening event, and it is a “cocktail” ring. Diana was young; she saw the radiance.
Charles nor William put as much effort into choosing the ring as they did in the proposal.
Meghan prefers small, personalized pieces that make a statement. The aquamarine is the prize.
So many lies and all for what reason?
I haven’t finished the book but this part stuck with me. Their trip in Lesotho was something that meant a lot to Harry. It was the first time they’d ever really ‘lived’ together, and Lesotho was very significant to Harry, in part because his mother had been there. It was utterly devastated by HIV/AIDS, essentially the epicenter of the AIDS epidemic in Africa. They spent a lot of one-on-one time together, and in a way Harry felt they never had before.
I can’t imagine how he felt learning that in all their time together (time Harry thought involved genuine bonding with his brother), William didn’t even bother to mention the proposal to him. That must have been such a gut-punch for him.
I was very glad to hear that Harry was never bequeathed the ring in the first place. If it’s Will’s ring to give then it’s a completely different situation. Harry got the things that were important to him from Diana, and William got the things that mattered to him. That’s much more fair.
I’m impressed by how much people here know about Diana’s jewelry. I remember a lot of Diana’s outfits but never the accessories. Aside from the engagement ring, I couldn’t name a single thing she wore or owned.
I’m hopeless with jewelry. But even I know not to wear a necklace with a boat neck dress…..
I know next to nothing about the jewels that various royals have. However, I adored Diana and I think her sapphire ring is exquisite. I looked stunning on her and it looks stunning on Kate. The ring doesn’t lose its beauty based on whose wearing it. I’m an 80’s girl like Di and I like the big gaudy things too!
Every time I see Middleton smirking, it’s always “I got William”, that gets me
why does kate always look rough when without her glam squad jeez look at that pic she looks like a crack head !!!