Diamond Engagement Rings Worn by Royal Brides Is a Tradition

Queen Elizabeth II's Engagement Ring

When a young Princess Elizabeth fell in love with handsome naval officer Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, it seemed to be the perfect royal romance. But the groom's royal family had been forced into exile, and his salary wasn't enough to buy a ring fit for a future queen.

So Philip's mother, Princess Alice of Greece, had one of her tiaras broken up to provide her only son with the heirloom jewels he needed to create a historic engagement ring. The result was designed by Philip himself alongside London jeweler Philip Antrobus.

The queen's engagement ring features a large, round diamond with five smaller diamonds on each side of it. The band is made of platinum, but Elizabeth still chose the traditional Welsh gold wedding band for her marriage in November 1947.

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Meghan, Duchess of Sussex's Engagement Ring

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Meghan Markle's ring famously features diamonds from the collection of Diana, Princess of Wales. Prince Harry had these precious family heirlooms set on either side of a large, square diamond that he personally sourced in Botswana.

In fact, this is a Duke of Sussex production all around as Harry helped design the overall look of the ring in conjunction with Cleave and Company. The prince spoke touchingly of how he planned the gem in the couple's engagement interview.

Recently, Meghan had the yellow gold setting made even more sparkly with the addition of smaller diamonds around the band, adding her own touch to a ring that's already a royal classic.

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Sophie, Countess of Wessex's Engagement Ring

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She might be known as one of the more discreet members of the royal family, but when Sophie Rhys Jones got engaged to the queen's youngest son, Prince Edward, she literally wore her heart on her hand. Sophie's all-diamond ring features heart-shaped diamonds.

It also follows a very familiar design for British royal brides with a central stone flanked by two smaller gems. The star of Sophie's ring is a two-carat oval diamond, but what makes it stand out are the pair of stones carved into hearts that support the main jewel.

Sophie, now Countess of Wessex, became engaged to Edward in January 1999, and they married in June that same year. They have two children, Lady Louise Windsor and James, Viscount Severn.

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Zara Tindall's Engagement Ring

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The queen's eldest granddaughter might have challenged royal rules with her tongue piercing, but Zara Phillips kept things very traditional when she got engaged to rugby star Mike Tindall in 2010.

Zara's ring is a large, cushion-shaped diamond set on a double platinum band packed with more gems. It's a custom design for Zara, and she's worn it proudly ever since.

The couple said "I do" in July 2011, just months after Prince William and Kate Middleton's huge royal wedding, and they now live happily with their two daughters, 5-year-old Mia and baby Lena.

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Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall's Engagement Ring

Image Source: Getty / Anwar Hussein Collection

She waited decades to finally marry her handsome prince, and when Camilla Parker Bowles became a royal bride, she received a diamond ring with quite the history to it.

Camilla's engagement present from Prince Charles was a gem that once belonged to his beloved grandmother Elizabeth, whom we know as the queen mother. It was a romantic and personal choice from the prince, linking his longtime love to the granny who had such a major influence on him as he grew up.

The ring features a huge, emerald-cut diamond with rows of baguette diamonds on either side of the central stone. Camilla wears it with the Welsh gold wedding band she received from the future king when the couple wed in Windsor in April 2005.

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Autumn Phillips's Engagement Ring

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The first of Queen Elizabeth's grandchildren to marry was Peter Phillips, son of Princess Anne, and he took inspiration from his granny when choosing a ring for his fiancée, Autumn Kelly. Just like the queen's own engagement ring, it features a large central diamond that is flanked on either side by smaller stones.

Peter and Autumn married in May 2008 and are now parents to Savannah, 9, and Isla, 7, who famously stole the show at Trooping the Colour and as cheeky attendants when Princess Eugenie married Jack Brooksbank in 2018.

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Princess Grace of Monaco's Engagement Ring

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When Grace Kelly became the most famous royal fiancée in the world, at the start of 1956, she received not one but two engagement rings. Her first was shown off to the press when she announced her forthcoming marriage to Prince Rainier III of Monaco. Her second took a starring role in her last and perhaps most famous movie role.

Grace's huge diamond creation, with a central stone over 10 carats in weight, also doubled as the engagement ring worn by her character Tracy Samantha Lord in High Society. It also became one of the most photographed pieces of jewelry in the world as Grace's every move was followed in the run-up to her wedding.

The first ring given to Grace by her royal love was a more discreet ruby and diamond band, reflecting the colors of Monaco's flag. But it was the Cartier creation, with baguettes on either side of the huge central diamond, that became Princess Grace's best-known engagement ring.

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Princess Charlene of Monaco's Engagement Ring

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Her wedding to Prince Albert II of Monaco was a star-studded event that lasted for days, and the path to the altar for Charlene Wittstock began with a truly spectacular diamond engagement ring. The three-carat, pear-shaped main stone sits on a platinum band with sparkling shoulders of smaller diamonds setting it off to sparkling perfection.

It's one of the bigger royal engagement rings of recent times, and Charlene, who is now mom to 4-year-old twins, Jacques and Gabriella, is rarely seen wearing it.

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Queen Letizia of Spain's Engagement Ring

Image Source: Getty / Carlos Alvarez

When TV presenter Letizia Ortiz said "I do" to Felipe of Spain, she received a very modern diamond ring. Fittingly for a woman who went on to become a style queen, it's a unique and very chic take on the royal engagement ring. And like the family she married into, it's become quite controversial.

Let's start with the diamonds. Letizia's ring is an eternity-style creation featuring a yellow gold band filled with stunning baguette-cut diamonds. Her handsome prince, Felipe, said he wanted something modern and unusual, and this ring fits the bill to perfection.

However, Felipe was so determined to keep his impending engagement secret from the press that he called in his family to help collect the ring. His brother-in-law Inaki Urdangarin actually picked up the gem from the jewelers and paid for it using a credit card belonging to the Noos Institute. Just a few years later, Inaki came under investigation for embezzling public funds through that institute. He's now in prison, and Letizia's ring hasn't been seen in years.

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Hereditary Grand Duchess Stephanie of Luxembourg's Engagement Ring

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When Belgian countess Stephanie de Lannoy accepted the proposal of the heir to the throne of Luxembourg in 2012, she was presented with an elegant diamond ring by her fiancé, Guillaume. He was the last of his generation of heirs to get married, so the ring had to be as spectacular as the wedding itself.

Stephanie's engagement ring features a large rectangular diamond surrounded by two rows of smaller, sparkling stones. It's all set on a diamond-encrusted band. She alternates it now with her mother's engagement ring as she sadly lost her mom just days before her October 2012 wedding.

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Queen Margrethe II of Denmark's Engagement Ring

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Denmark's Queen Margrethe has a sense of style all of her own, and her huge diamond engagement ring reflects all the charisma that she and her late husband, Prince Henrik, shared.

Margrethe got engaged in 1966 while she was still heir to the Danish throne and her husband-to-be was still a diplomat. They chose a "toi et moi" ring, a design made up of two stones, one each for the bride and groom. The square-cut diamonds are set in a diagonal design on a yellow gold band.

Margrethe and Henrik were a notoriously happy royal couple, and their romance lasted until 2018 when the prince sadly passed away after a short illness. Margrethe still wears the stunning ring he gave her at the start of their royal love story.

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Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden's Engagement Ring

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If you want an heir to the throne who seems just like the girl next door, then Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden is your royal. And the engagement ring of this future queen is about as close to one you'd find on your best friend's hand as any worn by royalty.

Victoria announced her engagement to her former personal trainer, Daniel Westling, in 2009 and showed off a sparkling diamond solitaire on her ring finger. Daniel added a diamond-encrusted wedding band to that at their royal wedding in 2010. The groom has ended up as popular as his much-loved wife, while the couple's two children, Princess Estelle and Prince Oscar, are the darlings of Sweden.

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Princess Madeleine of Sweden's Engagement Ring

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All of Sweden's royal ladies have stuck to diamonds for their marriages, and Princess Madeleine is no exception. The youngest daughter of King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia wears a sparkling Asscher-cut diamond in her engagement ring. It was presented to her in Fall 2012 by her US financier love, Chris O'Neill. The ring also features a diamond-set band.

The couple wed in Stockholm in June 2013, and they now live in Florida with their three children, Leonore, Nicolas, and Adrienne.

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Princess Sofia of Sweden's Engagement Ring

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Sofia Hellqvist was the last of Sweden's royal brides of her generation, but her diamond engagement ring was first class. Prince Carl Philip chose a round diamond set in a ring of smaller diamonds for his girlfriend when they finally announced their engagement in the summer of 2014. Sofia, like Carl Philip's sisters, Victoria and Madeleine, received a diamond-encrusted wedding ring at her marriage in June 2015.

Sofia was a controversial royal bride as she'd previously been famous as a model and reality TV star. But since becoming a princess, she's taken on a range of charities and causes and is now one of the country's most popular royals as well as mom to Prince Alexander, 3, and Prince Gabriel, 2.

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