The Princess of Wales, Kate Middleton, was seen wearing her iconic engagement ring for the first time since Christmas, during Remembrance Day events across the weekend.
As the Princess has slowly been returning to royal duties over the last couple of months, it became apparent that her iconic engagement ring – famously passed on from William’s mother, Diana, and inspired by Queen Victoria’s love of sapphires – had been notably absent from the royal’s ring finger.
In its place, Kate Middleton had been wearing a sapphire and diamond eternity ring, which was speculated to be a gift from husband, Prince William, in celebration of their 13th wedding anniversary, or the rumoured item gifted to her following the birth of her first son, George.
From its first appearance in a recorded video congratulating the Great Britain team on their success at the Paris Olympics, to a feature in the touching shared update of Catherine’s health journey, the eternity ring-style gold band set with diamonds and sapphires, had seemingly been everywhere. And while many questioned the sartorial swap, it was clear that Kate’s engagement ring was taking a momentary pause from the royal accessories rotation.
That was, until this weekend, when an appearance at the Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance revealed the distinctive 12-carat opal-cut sapphire band to be firmly back on the Princess’ finger.
Kate Middleton’s Eternity Ring
When Kensington Palace revealed that Catherine, Princess of Wales had completed chemotherapy in an extremely moving video shared to its official Instagram channel, we were offered a rare glimpse into the intimate family life of the young royal family.
Kate and Prince William, as well as their three children, Prince George, 11, Princess Charlotte, 9, and Prince Louis, 5, are shown having a picnic and playing in the woods, and seemingly sharing some quiet time together as a family as the British summer draws to a close.
“I cannot tell you what a relief it is to have finally completed my chemotherapy treatment,” reads the caption, penned by Catherine. “The last nine months have been incredibly tough for us as a family. Life as you know it can change in an instant and we have had to find a way to navigate the stormy waters and road unknown.”
She continues: “This time has above all reminded William and me to reflect and be grateful for the simple yet important things in life, which so many of us often take for granted. Of simply loving and being loved.”
It’s this love between the family that radiates from the small screen, and as we watched the video unfold, we noticed that one symbol of Kate and William’s love looked a little bit different. On Kate’s left ring finger, she didn’t wear her iconic sapphire engagement ring that once belonged to her late mother-in-law, Princess Diana, but a sparkling gold band that appears to be dotted with diamonds and sapphires.
It’s the latter detail, the sapphires specifically, that has people speculating that it might be an eternity band. The synergy between the ring and her engagement ring is undeniable. In fact, fans have commented that it may be the same eternity band that the Prince reportedly gifted his wife upon the birth of their first son, George, or that it may have been a gift for their 13th wedding anniversary, which took place in April.
This isn’t the first time Catherine has worn the apparent eternity band. We first saw the ring in an Instagram video on August 12, in which the Prince and Princess were joined by countless celebrities to celebrate the success of Team GB at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
It’s easy to speculate that Kate may have simply favoured the more low-key ring through the summer, as it’s a more practical everyday ring to wear. Regardless of her reasoning, it’s a gorgeous addition to her royal jewellery collection.
This article originally appeared on Marie Claire Australia and is republished here with permission.
