The most eye-popping royal engagement rings ever
Diamonds are a princess's best friend...
As news of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's engagement breaks, we have to admit to ourselves that we'll now never be a princess. It's heartbreaking, sure, but at least we'll have another pretty engagement ring to look at. Silver linings, people.
Meghan joins a list of other lucky women with royal engagement rings, including Kate Middleton and her royal heirloom sapphire ring, and the Queen with a modest £3,000 sparkler.
Here are some of the most regal royal engagement rings ever...
Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge
Swoon. We think most women wanted to be Kate just for a minute when we saw this corker - with a 12-carat sapphire, surrounded by 14 diamonds, it's one heck of a beauty. AND it has a sentimental angle - it's actually the same ring Prince Charles gave to Princess Diana. This ring is pretty much priceless.
Princess Diana
The Duchess of Cambridge's ring's original owner was none other than Princess Di. Costing £28,500 at the time, the ring was unusual for a royal band in that anyone could buy the style (well, if they had the cash) from the jewellers rather than it being a one-off design. Stars, they're just like us, eh?
Sophie, Countess of Wessex
Sophie's ring has two heart-shaped stones either side of the main diamond and came from the longtime royal family jewellers, Garrard.
Zara Phillips
She may not have a royal title but Zara Phillips, daughter of Princess Anne, definitely has an engagement ring fit for one.
Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall
When Camilla became engaged to Prince Charles, she was given a royal heirloom for her fourth finger. The piece of jewellery was designed in the 1920s and belonged to the late Queen Mother.
Marie Chantal of Greece
Taking the whole 'something borrowed, something blue, something old, something new' thing to heart, the ring Crown Prince Pavlov ring gave to his bride had family heirloom sapphire, plus a new diamond.
Crown Princess Mary of Denmark
Australian lawyer turned Danish princess Mary has a ring that matches the Danish flag, aww. With two ruby baguettes (the cut of a jewel, not the bread) to match the national colours, it's a very sweet design, and apparently worth about £10,000. Cripes.
Princess Charlene of Monaco
Princess Charlene's ring is pretty cool - it's grey-gold, with a pear shaped diamond in the middle surrounded by smaller diamonds. It was created by a fancy Parisian jeweller and it's super elegant, natch.
Princess Sofia of Sweden
Hubby Prince Carl designed this ring for Sofia - which is mega cute. It's an unusual design, with three bands of diamonds interweaving with a big stone in the centre - and it's worth a cool £10,000.
Queen Letizia of Spain
Fun fact - the Spanish royal family don't flash the cash too much. Don't get us wrong, they've never had to do a whip-round for an Uber, but Queen Letizia's ring is valued at a humble £3,000 (which is still a lot of money, but in comparision, you feel us?). It's got 16 baguette diamonds and a white gold trim. Discreet and pretty.
Jess Edwards is Cosmopolitan UK’s Deputy Editor, working to deliver the very best experiences across the brand's platforms (print, social, video, digital), products and events, including a focus on our membership offering, Club Cosmo. Jess has worked in the media industry for almost 20 years and at Cosmopolitan for over 10 years, joining the brand as Fashion Editor and later going on to lead the digital team as Site Editor. With her background in lifestyle journalism, it is no surprise that you’re most likely to find her in the Fashion section and exploring the very best in hospitality via our Travel pages.
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