Of course there were negative stories about the Duchess of Cambridge when she was on her three maternity leaves (2013, 2015 and 2018). I remember at one point – I think it was during her second maternity leave – when Kate had been gone from public view for more than a month, and the Daily Mail did a hit piece on how controlling she is and how shady it is that her mom practically lived with the Cambridges. I’m not going to pretend that NONE of this happened to Kate ever. Kate got bad press back in the day. But really, I don’t remember anything like this happening to Kate when her babies were only a month old or six weeks old. The British press is desperate to throw the Duchess of Sussex into whatever headline they can get. The royal commentators are just looking for a reason to snidely sniff in Meghan’s direction. Which might explain why the whole “Meghan had her engagement ring re-set with a smaller pave band” story has led to this dumbf–kery:
It was reported that Meghan Markle appears to have altered the engagement ring given to her by Prince Harry less than two years ago. Following the reports, one royal editor has claimed that the stunning ring – designed by Prince Harry himself and featuring two of the late Princess Diana’s diamonds – should not have been “updated”.
Speaking to Fabulous Digital, editor-in-chief of Majesty Magazine, Ingrid Seward, explained she “found it odd” that the Duchess of Sussex, 37, would change her engagement ring.
“I find it a bit odd Meghan would want to alter a ring that her husband had especially designed for her,” she said. “A royal engagement ring is a piece of history not a bit of jewellery to be updated when it looks old fashioned.”
One, the ring was never an original piece in the Royal Collection or whatever. Harry had it made using one larger diamond he sourced himself from Botswana and two smaller diamonds from one of his mother’s jewelry pieces. It was “made” less than two years ago and sometimes the first go-around isn’t the best. Maybe she needed it resized, or maybe – as some of you theorized – she wanted the band of engagement ring to “match” her eternity band anniversary present. It’s also worth noting that the Queen has truly historic Royal Collection pieces configured and changed all the time. Does Indrid Seward sniff at the QUEEN as well?
Also: I’m almost positive that Kate has had the infamous “Big Blue” sapphire engagement ring changed as well. The setting of the diamond surround looked much different when Diana wore the ring. They reset it so the sapphire “sits up” more than it did when it was Diana’s ring. And that ring actually is part of the Royal Collection! But sure, I guess it’s only “odd” when Meghan changes her jewelry.
Last thing: I’m actually sort of convinced now that Meghan had the engagement ring band changed when Harry gave her the eternity band as an anniversary present. She wanted them to “match,” I think. I’ve been examining the way her ring looked at little Archie’s reveal at Windsor and I think her engagement ring still had the same plain band then. The setting/band was changed AFTER their wedding anniversary.
Photos courtesy of Backgrid.
They will sniff at Meghan for anything.
I agree the press will hound Meghan for anything, but let’s be honest, she and Harry are giving the press plenty of ammunition. We all understand that they needed a home of their own but did they have to find somewhere that cost quite so much taxpayers’ money? Meghan did need a “royal” wardrobe, but she has spent an absolute fortune (for mostly ill fitting clothes). The endless bickering with the Cambridges is also unedifying. For an up to date, media savvy couple, they have handled the press since their wedding really badly.
The only mistake Harry and Meghan made were being too public or visible their first year of marriage. I would have advised them to lay low and build some goodwill before hitting the ground running. I know they wanted to make a strong impact, but it doesn’t seem like their work ethic and ambitions are valued. Also, all of the royals spend lots of money on clothes, cars, renovations, etc., so I’m not going to judge the Sussexes for enjoying the same privileges as other members of the family.
How are Meghan and Harry doing anything to give the press ammunition? They live in the least expensive home of all the working royals (most live in Castles and Palaces…they live in a 4 bedroom home). The building was scheduled for renovations anyway (with money that is set aside to do just that) and instead of renovating it and leaving it empty the couple moved into it. Harry and Meghan paid for all the fixtures and don’t actually own the home the crown estate does so why would the public pay for the basics (roofing, flooring, heating, water plumbing, windows). As for her clothes and jewerly the media is always adding the cost of things she already owned pre-Harry and things that were already accounted for like the gift of Diana’s ring.
As for the engagement ring no one even knows why it was changed but are making assumptions without even asking.
What bickering with the Cambridges? Do you have any true examples?
The media is just bitter that the Sussexes won’t give them access to their private lives and are making up stories to sell papers. Like the home supposedly had 10 bedrooms, yoga studio and gym when in reality it has 4 bedrooms and none of the extras.
It wouldn’t have been any better if they laid low during their first year of marriage then there would have been outrage that they are mooching off the taxpayers without doing any work.
People will find fault in anything H&M do.
Now they worked to much?
Exactly Bailey.
Also, Melissa if Meghan had done what you suggested those tab a_holes would have talked major crap about Meghan doing nothing.These people are just evil.
I am not sure what homes were offered or available. In any case it is the property of the British Taxpayers ultimately and the repairs listed as done were not extravagant but in line with what you would expect from a historic home that had not been in use for a while. Basic safety issues and getting things up to code. Harry and Meghan have been under constant attack because the press wants to own them and they are not having it. Meghan has been on maternity leave and is still being attacked for no reason. She did not design the system and it is clear what taxpayers will pay for and what they will not. I could not imagine living my life being constantly attacked for something that ultimately cost each taxpayer 4 cents but that would not grab as much headlines. The faux outrage is ridiculous.
Isn’t Meghan’s clothes/shoes/bags/jewels, paid for by Charles out of the Duchy of Cornwall which is a private income and not taxpayer funded? The entire household of both the Sussexes and Cambridges are funded by Charles privately. If she is spending a lot in her first year as a royal in order to create her working wardrobe, obviously Charles is able to afford it and gave her the budget accordingly. These faux outrage on her clothing spending is ridiculous. It’s not coming out of ppls pockets so it’s nobodies business but Charles.
I stand by what I said, and Michelle Obama gave similar advice to Meghan when she was interviewed for a British magazine:
“So my biggest piece of advice would be to take some time and don’t be in a hurry to do anything. I spent the first few months in the White House mainly worrying about my daughters, making sure they were off to a good start at school, and making new friends before I launched into any more ambitious work. I think it’s OK—it’s good, even—to do that,” she continued.
The institution Meghan married into is archaic and elitist. She was always going to be considered “too much” for that outdated system. I think she is awesome, but I’m also not naive to think that those snobs were going to easily accept a biracial American actress in the royal family. If the press was horrible to white women like Diana and Fergie, do you all honestly believe that they would be kind to Meghan?
You know, i said the same thing when they got married. I know Meg is eager to take off, the Queen was eager to have her hit the ground running, but it was advised by a ton of people at the time that she needed to ease in. It IS a big matter of “not how we do things around here”, and it IS stupid, but it’s how the game is played, and they’ve played it quite poorly. Plus Harry’s temper tantrums to the press and the general racist bullshit, the media is going to pick at everything for years to come. Is it unfair? Absolutely. Do we wish it was different? Absolutely. But it’s going to happen anyway.
The only way they’re going to win this is to step back and play nice with the press and the leaking aholes in the courts. We saw Will and Kate get their hand slapped a bit when theu thought they could make the Rose Hanbury story go away. No one should have to play games with the press, but it’s going to get much worse and be just awful for Archie if they don’t.
Interesting to blame the victims for their abuse. Maybe if Meghan and Harry had stood naked in Trafalgar Square for a public flogging, the press wouldn’t be so hard on them.
Harry and Meghan are NOT responsible for the disgusting treatment they have received at the hands of the British media and sad (mostly) American women who have nothing better to do than fill the message boards of lower than low tabloids with their bile and jealousy.
Michelle Obama’s advice was because she knew the type of sickos Meghan would be dealing. They’re probably the same sick people who dogged the TRUE First Lady for eight yeas. She didn’t tell Meghan to disappear. She told Meghan to take her time, which is what Meghan did considering that most of her marriage has been spent being pregnant and on maternity leave.
How about suggesting that Cambridges stop bickering with the Sussex family? The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have been on maternity leave. Normal Bill has been hot to throw his sister-in-law under the bus to cover up his wandering scepter. He could use some ‘helpful’ advice.
As for ingrid Seward ‘sniffing’ at the Duchess of Sussex, something tells me the Duchess isn’t on a suicide watch over that.
Michelle also said she took time to make sure her kids were settled. Meghan didn’t have any kids at the time so it wasn’t quite the same. But let’s be real they were claiming when she closed her own car door that was in her way from moving forward. Harry and Meghan laid low during their courtship for as long as they could but that didn’t stop the media from doling out racist articles about her and her family. There is no way things would have been different if she had laid low for a year of marriage.
“play nice with the press” Over my dead body. With 2+ years of non-stop racist abuse it is far to late to play nice with the press. Who by the way, are just slathering at the mouth for such a gesture from her. I see the bitter RR’s hunched over their keyboards practically foaming at the mouth, with glittery, beady little eyes pounding the keys with a scary, hard twisted smile, vicious jealousy pouring from their fingertips, hoping against all hope that this will be the story that sends her back to where she came from. The press is a giant spider that has Frogmore caught in its web. Sooner or later the occupants will have to do something and no matter what, they will attempt to destroy her, with great glee. These are the kind of people who end up alone with ulcers or strokes or develop a nasty little drinking habit.
The cost of the renovation is included in the overall budget for all of the Royal properties. So the money was going to be spent on that home anyway because everything was old and dilapidated. Most of the money was spent on heating systems, structural issues and plumbing repairs which are hardly extravagances.
Giving them ammunition by getting to work instead of sitting around gathering dust and being lazy? FFS
Sorry but you are absolutely misinformed or lying on what Megjan spent on clothes. Charles expense report over the past year have come out and there has been only an increase of £89000 between Meggsn joining the family. So which absolute fortune is this she spent? And who paid for it? Bc it sure as hell is not Charles or the taxpayers. So the press lied and you fell for it. No surprise you would do so you are here writing about how Meghan being abused by the media is her fault.
Can you imagine adding up hard earned money Meghan worked hard for and then spent on her wardrobe and brought it into the royal family and then castigated her for it. Tge audacity.
Btw in February/March 2018 Meghan went into Birks and spent a lot on jewelry before her marriage. The CEO of Birks said abt how Meghan was a modern woman who bought shit for herself. And she marries into this silly family and gets to have ppl add up her shit and telling her shes spending too much. BS.
@ Belgium,
No one knows why Meghan’s ring is different. Have you stopped to think that perhaps something happened and she had to have her ring cut from her finger? This happened to my mother. She began swelling and her fingers become so large she could not remove her rings. Meghan’s face is still puffy from her pregnancy. Whatever the case, it is between her and her husband.
She will always be scrutinized; partly because she is biracial, and partly because she is american and she is an actress. People can claim she spends too much on (fill in blank), or that she can’t keep assistants, or whatever is the complaint du jour, but she has long been involved in human rights causes. She cares about others and uses her voice to bring attention to their plight. People can gossip all they want about her, but she brings the receipts. I think this is what bothers people most of all.
@Belgium calling: NO, the media have handled Meghan and Harry badly. They have gone after her with race-baiting and bald-faced lies. Meghan and Harry have acted with discretion and diplomacy by contrast. They have remained stoical and have forged ahead creating their own charitable foundation. We all know it was William who instigated the split between the brothers out of jealousy that Meghan and Harry were getting more “draw” than the Cambridges. Meghan will continue doing her good works along with her husband despite the thrashing she gets from the gutter press, and it’s high time someone new to the BRF gets them into the 21st century.
Endless bickering with the Cambridges eh? I’ll rephrase that for better accuracy: They are passionate about causes, eager to do work and were making the Cambridges look bad in comparison. The Cambridges did not take kindly to that or their level of fame and that is why their relationship is not on good terms. The Cambridges want to be the top dogs in the Royal Family period. I honestly don’t think Harry and Meghan care but can’t help that the media find them more interesting.
@ Belgium calling
Respectfully, I call bullshit on some of your reasoning. The press and RRs criticize them for absolutely any and everything.
I agree there have been one or two missteps here and there, but no more than that. And certainly no more than your average royal, yet they get slammed 10 times harder for the most minor (and sometimes imaginary) infractions.
£3 million to practically rebuild a property of that grading with the appropriate level of security (especially for them as a mixed race couple) seems very reasonable to me.
Her wardrobe expenses might be on the high side to you or I, but isn’t vastly different from most of the other royal women, Kate especially.
As for the bickering with the Cambridges, that happens. Families disagree all the time, I don’t see how that’s down to the Sussexes alone.
I don’t believe there’s anything they could have done differently; this was always going to turn out this way because Meghan is so different from your vanilla royal and the (now larger) American audience means very big £££ for the press.
The press will write absolutely *anything* this side of libel about this couple because it makes them money. It’s that simple.
Winner winner, chicken dinner!
+1000
Was there all this outrage when Princess Diana modified her engagement ring from Princess Charles?
The ring story was a preamble to the assassination piece in the Daily Fail today. I’ll say it again. Harry and Meghan should go private – turn their backs on Royal duties and do whatever the hell they want to do. Leave Britain even. They don’t need the money. Leave Bill and Cathy to do all the heavy lifting for the future of the monarchy.
Agreed. He has established connections he can keep without being tied to the monarchy so tightly. It’s not worth it and they have more than enough money to be comfortable.
I agree. They are enduring too much drama and abuse. All the money in the world is not worth receiving death threats, having your character assassinated daily by the press, and people actively working to destroy your marriage. A lot of people made fun of Harry’s ex-girlfriends, but now we see why women are hesitant to marry into the royal family. I wish Harry and Meghan well, and I pray their marriage and love for each other remains strong.
I’d be delighted if Harry and William went off and lived the normal lives they claim to want. They cost more than they’re worth. It would be a gift to the taxpayers.
Unfortunately for all their talk of normalcy they seem rather too fond of the benefits of royal life to ever give it up.
People want to get rid of Harry and Meghan for basically doing and living like other royals but are happy to keep and fund Pedo Andy… Interesting and very telling.
@Sassy
Very telling isn’t it? The difference between Harry and Meghan and Andrew all comes down to the Queen. The Queen protects Andrew at all costs, going as far as giving him more honors and responsibilities after that gross Epstein scandal. The Palace has been burying those allegations for years. It angers me that Harry and Meghan are not receiving the same protection as other royals, but the family sure does like using them and Doria for those “diversity” photo ops.
I do wonder how much longer Harry will last before he say’s “right, I’ve had enough. We’re out of here”. I believe once the Queen passes away the RF will have a tough time keeping him around.
Not sure where he’d go….how can someone just leave a family? It’s not like quitting a job. And frankly, while he seems to be one of the more “normal” ones, what is his skill set? None of this royal generation seems too keen to do stuff completely on their own. Eugenie and Beatrice have token “jobs” but are still probably subsidized by their father or the RF. Even Peter Phillips, who works at a bank, lives on his mother’s estate.
@Mumbles
Lots of people would be more than happy to hire Harry and Meghan for vanity positions. They could also become brand ambassadors like Mike and Zara. They have plenty of wealthy connections who are more than able to help them transition to another lifestyle (Oprah, the Obamas, the Clooneys, Serena, etc.).
He could not leave without getting legal permission, and leaving his eldest nephew at the mercy of Andrew as Regent if anything happened to William.
If he honestly decided enough was enough I doubt the British government would hold him hostage and make him stay. That would not only look bad but ridiculous.
Can’t keep saying he’s not important then if the topic of him leaving that behind comes up then suddenly he’s important? Can’t have it both ways.
I don’t know, the Prince of Wales and DoC have seemed very welcoming to both Meghan and Doria. Maybe I’m being naive but I think they want the Sussexes to continue being full time royals.
It’s her ring, she can do as she likes with it.
Exactly. The fuss and outrage is just exhausting to even read. It’s HER ring!!
Wedding and engagement rings are such personal items…it nobody else’s business.
This, so , much. Mine was a surprise- and therefore no input from me- and I changed mine to suit my taste.
THIS!
I even find the comments about,well maybe it was Harry’s idea, maybe Harry told her it was OK, to be kind of offensive actually!
Once someone gives you a piece of jewelry it belongs to you. Most women wear their engagement and wedding rings every single day and if you don’t like what you are looking at, change it! Plus this change is so minimal that many of us on this board can’t really even tell the difference even when looking at a close up picture! Since Meghan got engaged she has added two other rings to that finger, the wedding band and eternity band, and maybe the engagement band wasn’t fitting or looking right. When 1 ring is constantly combined with 1 or 2 others on the same finger sometimes people opt to make changes such as solder them together, etc. Because the different bands could not fit right and in some cases could rub together in such as way to eventually get damaged.
^^ This. The wider engagement band was perfect as the sole ring. Adding a wedding band + an anniversary eternity band adds significant width, which can be uncomfortable & cause skin irritation because it’s hard to dry fingers without removing all 3 rings.
My multi-stone wedding ring (no engagement ring) was wide & I got eczema + blister-y sores because of constant damp. I eventually switched to a plain narrow band for daily wear & saved the fancy one for dressy wear.
While I prefer the first setting I agree completely, it’s her ring she can do with what she wants.
I’ve reset my engagement ring 4 times into completely different settings. As I told my husband, “I didn’t marry the ring.” First husband, 4th ring. And to add to that, I now wear my Mom’s engagement ring, because it’s even nicer. Mom had her engagement ring reset 4 times, and then bought a bigger stone and had that reset twice. I reset the last ring for its third iteration.
Queen Mary reset entire tiaras and major necklaces multiple times.
This. Resetting jewelry was a hobby for Mary, practically a royal tradition! Alexandra thought opals were unlucky and swapped them all out, primarily for rubies. It happens all the time…..
I’m on my, I think, fourth version of my wedding rings. For our 30th anniversary I wanted a whole new set, white gold instead of yellow gold, with a larger middle stone and different setting. I love it. In 41 years my taste has changed, since 1978.
This is just too intrusive into their personal life.
The design of the engagement ring is between Harry and Meghan.
Frogmore Cottage is an old building that would have been demolished in most neighborhoods and replaced with a $3 million up to date home with many more features.
SMGDH at this foolishness.
Lucylee, thank you! I said in the other thread, if a building is that decrepit, shouldn’t it be demolished? If it’s a so-called historical building and you are doing that much renovation and structural change how much of the integrity of the building is even left? I dunno, I just find it hard to believe every one of these old buildings is worth saving.
The ring was present for Archies birth photoshoot, so it would have been a push present or an early anniversary gift. It’s easier to see the pave diamonds in the picture she’s facing forward. https://media.gettyimages.com/photos/britains-prince-harry-duke-of-sussex-and-his-wife-meghan-duchess-of-picture-id1142167859?s=2048×2048
Its only odd because Harry was so proud in the interview, and hopes she never takes it off. I would think a redesign at a major milestone would be less of a side-eye than on the 1st anniversary.
Prince Harry: The ring is – is obviously yellow gold because that’s what – her favorite and the main stone itself I sourced from Botswana and the – the little diamonds either side are from my mother’s jewelry collection to make sure that she’s with us on this – on this crazy journey together. And …
Meghan Markle: It’s beautiful, and he designed it. It’s incredible.
Prince Harry: Yeah, make sure it stays on that finger (laughs)
Meghan Markle: Of course. (laughs)
The “make sure it always stays on that finger” is an odd comment from Harry. A bit domineering and bossy.
I think it’s more of an, “I finally found happiness” sentiment.
He didn’t say ‘always’ which does make it sound like an order. He says it the same way a nervous groom-to-be would.
I sincerely doubt Harry gives two sh*** about what she does with the ring. It’s not like she’s asking for a completely new ring with new diamonds a year after getting married. She got a ring setting changed to suit her tastes and/or suit a new ring he also got her. I can’t imagine Harry is bothered at all or takes it personally.
Also, maybe Harry offered to change the band.
This is the only reason I thought one would wait. (We did, comment about that below) but maybe the wider band no longer worked with the new eternity ring. Fingers are only so big so Usable ring room is subjective
You can’t know whether a ring “works” until you’ve worn it awhile. Perhaps the ring was always turning around or slipping to one side, or constantly getting caught on fabric. These are some common sense reasons why people change their ring settings to make them more comfortable to wear.
Or how about Harry found a band that matched the anniversary ring and did it for her (updating his own design). I doubt she’d just go off and do it without him, especially as she was giving birth and all…
She was wearing it at the photocall with Archie so she’d had it changed prior to the birth, and Harry was so obviously proud and happy at the announcement, I doubt there were any issues.
I’m guessing she had to cut it off, her fingers were swelling and there were noticeable marks from the engagement ring on her finger, I assume she just replaced it with a band more her style, and Harry purchased the eternity ring for her.
Harry’s still a guy. When he says he designed the ring he meant the front part, and he picked a yellow gold band, as yellow gold was her favorite. I’m guessing the jeweler picked the width of the band based on the size of the stones. There is a jeweler who comments on here somewhere, and to me it looks like the slim band she picked seems a little thin for the stones. Certainly not the average width of a band with stones that big. It’s beautiful and as long as she doesn’t go all Goldie Hawn in Overboard to her butler if the stones get lost who really gives a rats a()*)
Sorry for the fake language, but this was funny gossip about a wife changing her husband’s designed especially for her ring into this now. Was kind of relatable. You know your hubby gets your style almost right, but there’s this one thing driving you mad about it. How do you tell him when he is so sweet. I’m wondering about the gossip as everyone was going hog wild how Meghan was being mistreated on this story yesterday, when it was just Meghan changed her ring. Did the gossip commenters see it coming or did it come cause of the gossip commenters. Chicken and egg scenario.
I don’t think changing/adding prongs to a ring but keeping the band and the gemstones the same is the equivalent of going from a gold band to a tiny diamond filled one. But even still, I don’t really gaf if she wanted to change her ring. I think the only odd thing about it is that Harry didn’t go with what must clearly be her style when having the ring designed. I also find it hard to believe that Meghan wasn’t somehow involved in the design process because it just makes more sense.
That said – it’s her ring. I don’t fault her for wanting it to be exactly how she wants – and it DOES look better to have pave on both sides of the wedding band. That said – I personally liked the original ring better haha. I like more clean lines in jewelry – I am not a big fan of pave anything. It can look absolutely stunning, but it’s just not my personal style. I’m a big fan of yellow gold.
Ah and see, I don’t like yellow gold but I love pave lol.
I bet Harry was thinking of the wedding band when he went for the yellow gold band with the e-ring, since that was going to be Welsh gold.
As we discussed yesterday, the only thing about this to me that is slightly weird is that she changed it at this point. If she wanted the pave band, change it before you announce your engagement. But maybe she liked the gold band initially and then changed her mind?
I’m kind of cracking up that this is a story and yet here I am discussing it lol.
I KNOW. It’s the dumbest thing, but we’re all here talking about it in great depth lol. But I do think a lot of it is because many of us are jewelry hounds.
I honestly think pave is stunning on other people. I’m a sucker for sparkle. But I’m also clumsy and having a lot of tiny diamonds that I could damage or knock out somehow makes me nervous. I have a cathedral set solitaire for my engagement ring – which in retrospect wasn’t the best idea because I get it caught or accidentally punch my metal cubicle when my arm got stuck in my jacket haha. My band is a three stone diamond ring that my mom’s mom left me when she passed away. They’re nothing fancy or extravagant, and are relatively sleek which is what I love. Minimalist jewelry is what I’ll pick 9 times of out of ten. But I think the two pave bands surrounding the welsh gold look beautiful on Meghan – and when you’re stacking a group of three rings, it makes sense to go tiny widths.
I think Harry did a great job overall – and if he kept the band in mind while designing that’s better than a lot of husbands. I genuinely love her 3 stone ring in EVERY iteration though – it’s just a really classy piece of jewelry.
Now my one gaudier kind of ring that I’m a sucker for is those cluster rings that you’ll see once in a while. Bario Neal is the company that I think of first – but again, I’d be really nervous about knocking stones loose. I still drool over them though, I think probably because they look like organized chaos in the best kind of way.
Erinn my friend works at BN! Their designs are so gorgeous.
ENN. You need to tell your friend that they are a god among humans. I’ve never found a more stunning group of designs in my life. They are like the jewelry of my heart! That’s dramatic af, but I’m standing by it. I’ve been eyeing the Lash rings and alllll of the clusters for ages now.
Erinn I know! I’ve noticed other local jewelers starting to copy their designs, but no one does it like BN does. The amount of talent and creativity that they put into both their art and their business is really incredible, and the whole staff are just good humans. I have my eye on the Nikko mini rings along with the enamel bands.
Harry had the ring made by Cleave and Company. They make military metals and such and aren’t known for this type of jewelry at all. It was an odd choice. I think his heart was in the right place, but I don’t think he put much thought into past diamonds that meant something and yellow gold being her favorite.
When H&M got engaged i remember thinking “the band on that setting is thicker than she probably would have chosen” because I have similar taste in jewelry to Meg and when my husband and I were resetting my mothers ring for me (she had passed of cancer a few weeks prior to our engagement) it was hard to find the delicate band I wanted. I bet when she got the eternity band she took the opportunity to change the engagement band to “match” or make it more her own style. Nothing wrong with that.
Did Diana wear a wedding band? A common problem with larger stone engagement rings (especially vertically long shapes like ovals) are that wedding bands often don’t sit flush with the ring. When I had mine made I asked them to prop up my mom’s stone a bit in the engagement setting so an eternity wedding band could fit flush underneath it. Kate could have done the same. My sister in law did the same prior to her wedding, after the engagement. Her husband didn’t think about that when buying the ring and it didn’t fit. the option was to have a band that was a weird shape and curved around the engagement stone, or lift the stone up a bit in the setting.
Princess Diana did wear a plain gold wedding band with her e-ring.
https://www.brides.com/story/why-princess-diana-engagement-ring-was-controversial
Sometimes she just wore the gold band, without the e-ring.
https://www.popsugar.com/celebrity/photo-gallery/43079393/image/43080211/Diana-gave-her-son-piggyback-ride-when-visited-Highgrove-House
And Diana’s ring has been reset for Kate, maybe after the engagement, but I am not 100% sure about that.
It’s her ring, so of course she should do as she likes. But I will admit that I find it odd. The ring was already stunning and in their engagement interview, Harry discussed the thought that went into designing the original. Just for sentimental reasons, I wouldn’t have changed it (but also because I think the pavé doesn’t look as nice here).
Then Harry should be the only one in a snit over it. None of us have any place being upset about what she does with her own jewelry.
The sentiment was in regards to the diamond from Botswana and two of Diana’s diamonds. It wasn’t in relation to the setting.
This time a year ago, were there so many smear stories about Meghan? It really did just pick up around the time of the pregnancy and tour, right? Because omg, since then its been exhausting.
This ring is not a piece of history. I doubt in 40 years anyone is going to care about this ring besides H&M’s children and grandchildren. I mean, I don’t give two figs about Sophie’s ring, besides wanting to see what it looks like.
Some people don’t believe in changing engagement rings. Some people do (like “upgrading” or whatever.) its personal and each person’s choice.
it’s not like she took the ring and threw it into the Thames while screeching for Harry to buy her bigger diamonds.
Please. If you follow her majesty’s vault blog you can read about ALL the times that the queen, her mother, her sister, her grandmother etc have tweaked/changed/redesigned and broken up pieces of the royal collection.
Change that tiara into a necklace, add jewels from that tiara into those earrings, update that tiara base with stones from that piece. The pearls from the lovers knot tiara game from another piece that got broken up. Heck Sophie just got her wedding tiara redesigned and I don’t see anyone wringing their hands about that. The ability to change jewelry is a feature not a bug.
But none of them ‘changed jewellery’ while black…
That may just be the key difference.
A little louder so the people in the back can hear.
@ Marlene T H I S !!!
There you go, you’ve identified what the crime here was! That’s why broom-haired Ingrid Sewage is all in a dither about it. The same lady who told Hello mag that she was excited to see what the new baby looked like because the parents looked so “different” from one another.
LOL Exactly! That bit about ‘it can’t be changed because it’s HISTORY!’? Obviously Ingrid knows nothing about the history of British royal jewelry, which is a big fail from the editor of a magazine dedicated to the BRF. Tut, tut, tut.
Obviously, Ingrid has never heard of Queen Mary, bless her jewel-encrusted soul. Queen Mary just *loved* reconfiguring her jewelry to be exactly what she wanted it to be at that moment.
There was that great example of Diana changing the big, sapphire brooch into a necklace with pearls. It was a historic piece too but she did it and it looked beautiful. I think Camilla has since returned it to its brooch state.
I think the BRF just change jewels because they’re not so precious to them as they’re so rich and just a part of their life. The next person in line can always change them back!
HM destroyed the beautiful Nizam of Hyderabad tiara to make that awful ruby one. Her own engagement ring and wedding bracelet were made from Philip’s mum’s tiara.
Andrew gave Sarah Ferguson an emerald, then designed a ruby ring for her last minute because that’s what she wanted.
Eugenie designed/redesigned her engagement ring from what Jack originally bought.
Claire of Luxembourg dumped her first engagement ring within weeks of Felix’s proposal and got a new one with a much larger diamond.
Rainier and Grace did the same, because his ruby and diamond band (Monaco flag) didn’t match up with big Hollywood diamond engagement rings.
Crown Princess Mary added diamonds to her engagement ring years ago.
Queen Letizia stopped wearing her engagement ring during the Inaki and Cristina scandal. Inaki had secretly purchased the ring, and Letizia and Felipe didn’t want to be associated with those two anymore. Felipe bought her a new floral diamond band which she wears now.
@ Nota
Your encyclopedic knowledge of this subject is just…..wow!
Well this is a juicy rundown! Why did Inaki secretly purchase the engagement ring for his brother-in-law’s girlfriend– some kind of shady deal?
Thanks, Bella.
Nobody knew Felipe and Letizia were even dating. Their engagement was a complete surprise, like Philippe and Mathilde in Belgium.
Felipe sent Inaki out to buy the ring so nobody would know he (Felipe) was seeing anyone much less proposing. It isn’t a traditional engagement style which helped keep it secret. It is an eternity band with emerald cut diamonds all the way around. The jeweler may have assumed it was an anniversary gift for Inaki’s wife.
@nota Thanks for the info.
Agreed. A preamble to the nasty hit piece on the Sussexes by the notorious Rebecca English.
First she can do whatever she wishes with her ring she wears everyday. However, knowing how ridiculous the press has been I’m sure she expected this would cause a kerfuffle. With that said, I redesigned my ring for my 20th anniversary. My husband designed my ring. Marquis with trillions on each side and while it was lovely the center Stone was so large it was a weapon. We even called it “being ringed”. I kept it like he designed it because I didn’t want him to feel bad. At 20 all bets were off and I turned the Marquis east to west, changed the gold to rose from yellow and added more stones (along with the trillions) . It looks like a museum piece and people fall all over it. I should have done it years ago because he takes credit for this glorious piece and I know now he couldn’t have cared less. I’m sure Harry feels the same.
It’s just a ring.
It sounds glorious……any chance at all of seeing a picture of it?
Shut up, Ingrid
Thank you. That’s all that needs to be said about this arrogant b’s opinion.
My tinfoil hat theory is this: Meghan’s face looked swollen at the photocall after Archie’s birth. I think she may have developed a little swelling/early pre-eclampsia right before the birth, and the ring had to be cut off. Then the band needed to be replaced/repaired anyway, so it was changed.
Unlikely and probably not true, but there it is.
I know someone who had this exact thing happen, so it was actually my first thought as well.
This happened to me!
I can attest to how scary it is when you have to have your ring cut off for fear of losing your finger. True or not true for Meghan, it definitely does happen, and from an observer’s POV, Meghan was looking very swollen before (and even a little bit after) the birth of Archie.
People are judging this by comparing photos?? What sort of evidence is this? I cannot see any difference on this ring.
It might have been that her fingers swell and she could not get the ring off, so it had to be cut and then needed a new one. Jesus!
@Melissa! Same thought! 😀
It’s definitely a different band. Town and Country has some clearer pics.
Good God, you are right. She even had the stones made smaller. 😉 Maybe, as I wrote before, she could not get the ring off due to swollen fingers and then had the new one made to match her new ring from Harry. Well, the reason will remain a mystery, since we will never know.
“The British press is desperate to throw the Duchess of Sussex into whatever headline they can get.”
Because it gets clicks. I loved her original ring, but this one obviously makes her happy and I’m sure that makes Harry happy, so who cares.
I was on a Blind Gossip site and OMG, some of those folks really hate Meghan! Someone even presented the conspiracy that 1-she didn’t have a baby then 2-the baby isn’t Harry’s. Then talked about how ‘conniving’ she was and how ‘unhappy’ Harry looks. I almost felt like I’d walked into one of those old Twihard conspiracy sites!
Who the hell cares what Hagrid Seward thinks? I don’t.
that is really unfair to poor Hagrid…..
Good point Bella! It really is.
Hagrid’s hair was healthier looking.
Hagrid! Perfect moniker for this sanctimonious b who has had one of the messiest personal lives imaginable.
We dont know why the band was changed. The new band looks like the anniversary present. Harry could have had it done as part of that present so it would look as it does now. I really can’t stand the UK press.
Instead of Ingrid getting her panties in a bunch on a ring, that’s not hers. Why don’t she focus on getting a keratin treatment for her hair.
This, all day!
LOL!!!
Seriously, her head looks like a haystack.
Haha!
Question: couldn’t it be the same band, thinned with diamonds added? So it’s not a new band, but a modified one?
Wouldn’t it be wonderful to be able to play with the Royal Collection of jewelry? Imagine it aaaall spread out in front of you, glimmering and delicious.
Coming from the same Ingrid who made it known how disappointed she and her colleagues were that Harry didn’t marry a white woman or as the brits say “English Rose”.
Her ring she can do what she want with it, Ingrid isn’t going to beat her ass over it.
Meghan having her engagement ring redone is a very minor jewelry edit by BRF standards. Most of the jewels in the Royal Collection, including many of the well known tiaras, have been modified several times over the past century for multiple reasons. A lot were modified during by Queen Mary because she wanted to put her own stamp on them and to certain pieces more wearable with changing tastes. Other pieces, including the Vladimir Tiara, have had components removed to make it more comfortable for its wearer.
THANK YOU! I was just thinking about how actual tiaras have been significantly revamped over the years. The idea that someone can’t alter the band or setting on their engagement ring because the person who gave them the ring is “royal”, and therefore the ring is some kind of publicly owned historical treasure, is a total joke!
This band looks thinner. I preferred the gold one, and Harry did say gold was her favourite. It matched with the wedding band too.
Hey Ingrid. It’s not a part of British history and you are not a historian. It’s a ring and you are a snide leech.
OH MY GOD, the editor in chief of MAGESTY MAGAZINE has spoken!
Please, Celebitchy, continue to drag these publications and their tedious writers, editors, whoever.
Seriously doubt this chick is even on the Sussexes’ radar.
More like Ingrid Sewer
Women change and update rings all the time. It’s not a big deal. I personally liked the original version better, but it’s not my ring! And I’m sure there were no hurt feelings — perhaps Harry suggested she change it to match a new band, or she just told him she wanted something that better fit her style. No biggie. The idea of the ring is still the same, just a different band.
The RRs are still stuck on stupid thinking if they drag Harry and Meghan enough they will cave and give them an all access lass to their lives. If they leave the BRF they will letting the jerks win. You stand up to bullies and you don’t negotiate with terrorists.
I like the new setting. It matches her style and the eternity ring.
I think the key words in this story are ‘HER RING’. Harry gave it to her and now it’s hers to with as she wishes. If Ingrid, or every reporter in Great Britain don’t like it, too bad so sad.
Maybe Ingrid could do some real reporting and find out why the Queen continues to honour Prince Andrew who likes to have sex with underage girls and his grifter ex-wife.
I don’t see her commenting on the changes to this family ‘heirloom’
https://www.thesun.co.uk/fabulous/9368056/kate-middleton-princess-diana-earrings-meghan-markle-bling-engagement-ring/
The daily mail alone has like 5 articles up today trashing Meghan. Each of those articles have hundreds sometimes thousands of comments trash her. The British media have a major problem with race and classism. I really hope the commonwealth countries take a long hard look on whether they should stay. Let England float along with their racism and Brexit mess by themselves.
To quote Salt n Pepa
(Ingrid) What’s the matter with your life?
Why you gotta mess wth Meghan’s?
Don’t keep sweatin’ what she does
‘Cause she’s gonna be just fine
Check it out
If Meghan wants to change the band on her engagement ring
It’s none of your business!!
Actually this time we can thank the ‘fans’ aka #SussexSquad.
They noticed the change in the ring setting and as usual the parasite free lancer journos at the Fail who stalk Meg fans on twitter were on hand to write up this riveting and original piece of journalism.
If nothing else this story illustrates perfectly the level of scrutiny Meghan is subject to and how unending that is.
What sickens me the most is that the likes of Ingrid feels so invested in a woman she likely will never meet or have access to, and there lies the true cause of her outrage.
It’s not the ring Ingrid is sniffing at, rather it is the lack of access to Meghan, Harry, Kate and William and the way in which that has impacted her on a financial level. In Charles she has had an ally over the last 20+ years by doing his bidding to write posthumous hit piece after hit piece in which she has diminished Diana and her memory in a bid to elevate Camilla.
However, with the increase in popularity of the younger Royals she never really put much thought into how she might be viewed by William and Harry for the above actions.
It amazes me that this woman cannot understand why William and Harry cannot stand her after the way she has decimated their mothers character and memory. Her biggest source of pride is labeling their mother with a serious personality disorder (BPD), writing a whole book about it and even getting a renowned psychiatrist to be on record with her (despite him never having any interactions with Diana himself, which I suspect somewhere along the line violates the Hippocratic oath).
This woman disgusts me. No sign of intelligent life force to be found at all.
Yeah I remember in the 1980s Ingrid’s claim to fame was that she was friends with Fergie, or so she claimed.
It’s the same argument they’re always having with themselves: is Meghan a minor royal that isn’t important enough? Or are her and her ring so important that it’s literally already an artifact and cannot be touched or changed?
A touch unrelated but I knew a guy who spent a month finding the perfect engagement ring for his girlfriend. Fast forward 5 years into marriage, she wanted an entirely different ring fashioned out of something she saw in Tiffany’s. He was terribly hurt and ultimately she lost a ton of weight and left him. He is now happily married to someone who didn’t change the ring. I always thought his ex wife was more about status than her actual marriage and it was horrifying to me. She runs around in the DC area currently. I know Meghan didn’t change the ring entirely but what does everyone think of my above scenario?
You spend way too much time minding other people’s business. That’s what I think.
@Bren
It was too obvious, and you lowered the Boom.
i believe the person who actually has to wear the ring every single day should have the final say on what the ring looks like.
They need Harry and Meghan more than the Duke/Duchess need them. If the ring was reset maybe smart people should also mention the new ring added to the engagement ring. It probably fits better after being reset and the addition of another new ring. Get a life people.
For the love of God(dess), why is Ingrid Sewage-Mouth even making this a thing?? Is her hatred of Meghan that out of control? Am I an awful person for resetting my late mother’s engagement ring into a new band Ingrid instead of honouring her memory by keeping it in a setting I didn’t like? Christ on a cracker, find something else to bitch about you sad cow.
Ingrid Sewage is still recovering that Meghan knew which fork to use when having dinner with the Queen.
For news about Meghan, Harry and Archie, the RR have to visit the Sussexes Instagram, and the whiney bastards are pissed they are giving them traffic.
The leakers at KP, must be missing their bribes.
I hated my original ring, but Mr. Sugar picked it and loved it so woooo!
I found a ring I loved many years later in a pawn shop for 1/5 of retail. Now I have the perfect ring and moved my original to the right hand.
The moral of the story is I’m thrifty (and pawn shop classy) and I married HIM and not a piece of jewelry.
I don’t get it. I honestly don’t see the difference in the engagement ring.
Definitely different in Archie’s photos the NY Post has very clear pictures.
Having said, who cares.