15 of the most extravagant royal engagement rings of all time
- Royal engagement rings have ranged from incredibly expensive to surprisingly simple.
- Princess Diana's ring was from a catalogue anyone could have ordered from.
- Prince Harry designed Meghan Markle's ring using diamonds from one of his mother's brooches.
The diamonds in Queen Elizabeth II's 3-carat engagement ring came from a tiara that belonged to Prince Philip's mother, Princess Andrew of Greece.
The ring is made up of one 3-carat diamond surrounded by 10 smaller diamonds.
The Prince of Monaco proposed to Grace Kelly with an engagement ring of interlocking diamonds and rubies, but then bought her a bigger 10.5-carat diamond.
Grace Kelly wore the engagement ring in her last movie before becoming princess of Monaco, "High Society," which also featured Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra.
That bigger diamond ring was displayed at the "Grace, Princess of Monaco: A Tribute to the Life and Legacy of Grace Kelly" exhibit at Sotheby's in New York in 2007.
The exhibition also featured her dresses, letters, photos, and other items.
Princess Diana picked out her own sapphire engagement ring from a Garrard catalogue.
The sapphire stone was surrounded by 14 diamonds. It cost about $36,000 (£28,500) in 1981, but today it's priceless.
Sarah Ferguson's ring also came from Garrard.
The ruby in the center matches her red hair. The stone was surrounded by 10 drop diamonds.
The couple divorced in 1996.
Queen Elizabeth II's youngest son, Prince Edward, proposed to Sophie Rhys-Jones with another Garrard ring.
The ring contained three diamonds in a modern setting.
Queen Maxima of the Netherlands received an engagement ring with orange diamonds from King Willem Alexander.
Orange is the historic national color of the Netherlands.
King Felipe of Spain (then Crown Prince) presented Queen Letizia with a band of diamonds instead of a traditional engagement ring.
The ring contained 16 baguette diamonds with white gold trim.
Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark proposed to Mary Elizabeth Donaldson in 2003 with a ring made of rubies and a single diamond.
The diamond, flanked by two rubies, represents the colors of Denmark's flag.
Princess Victoria of Sweden kept her engagement ring simple.
In Sweden, where royal engagement rings are usually plain gold bands, a single solitaire diamond was more than enough.
Prince Albert of Monaco proposed to Princess Charlene in 2010 with a 3-carat, pear-shaped diamond with smaller diamonds around it designed by Repossi.
The royal couple met through the Olympics (both are former Olympians) and wed in 2011. Charlene rarely wears the engagement ring publicly.
Prince William proposed to Kate Middleton with his mother's ring, and she continues to wear it today.
Middleton also wears other pieces of Princess Diana's jewelry, including earrings and bracelets.
Prince Harry proposed to Meghan Markle with a ring he designed himself.
The ring contained three stones: one diamond from Botswana flanked by two diamonds from one of Princess Diana's brooches.
Princess Eugenie's engagement ring contains a padparadscha sapphire surrounded by diamonds in a design similar to her mother Sarah Ferguson's.
The design resembled her mother Sarah Ferguson's $35,000 design.
Princess Beatrice's 3.5-carat engagement ring is estimated to cost around $100,000.
Her then-fiancé, Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, designed the ring in collaboration with designer Shaun Leane.
READ MORE ARTICLES ON
Popular Right Now
Advertisement