Kate Middleton’s Engagement Ring Belonged to Princess Diana

Prince William and Kate Middleton
The announcement of Prince William’s engagement to Kate Middleton has transfixed a world that seems otherwise beyond interest in an old-fashioned monarchy, but there’s something about this beautifully young and blushingly happy couple that makes us all giddy about romance. Of course, people were saying the same thing about Charles and Diana nearly 30 years ago. Much about the relationships between these two royal couples echo each other, including the fact that each princess-to-be wore the same engagement ring during the announcement of their nuptials. Yes, William, in a bittersweet gesture, proposed to Kate using his mother’s sapphire and diamond engagement ring.

The lovely Kate, who is now calling herself the more formal Catherine, according to The Daily Mail, wore (what else?) royal blue to the announcement ceremony. If you look at these two photos side-by-side of both William and Charles with their future brides, it’s easy to see that history really does repeat itself, though let’s hope in this case to a happier end. William and Kate seem to be a content, charming and private couple, and as Prince Charles joked, “they’ve been practising long enough” to get a sense of what their married life will be like.

William and Kate got engaged in Kenya last month, but only announced their wedding plans to the press today. Reuters reports that William gave Kate his mother’s engagement ring “so the late Princess Diana didn’t miss out on today and the excitement.” The sentiment in and of itself is beautifully heartbreaking, but one can’t help but think that giving Kate Diana’s ring is a bit inauspicious. On the other hand, if you’ve been through a loss, you know weddings (and births) are a perfect time to honor family members no longer with us, and though that ring certainly “comes with a lot of emotional baggage” as my friend Paula joked this morning, it is also a touching tribute to William’s mother. Kate doesn’t seem to be bothered a bit by the possible strangeness of it all, beaming in blue and ready to take her seat on the throne. Of course that doesn’t mean the couple isn’t furiously planning a pre-nup, but maybe in this case, sapphires are forever.