How is Kate Middleton’s sapphire engagement ring linked to Queen Victoria’s royal brooch?

The engagement ring seen on Kate Middleton‘s finger has had a longer journey than many would have been led to believe.
It is famously known that the blue sapphire, which is surrounded diamonds, once belonged to Princess Diana, and that Prince William — her elder son — used it to propose to his then-fiancée Kate in 2010.
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The ring came into the possession of Diana when Prince Charles gave it to her. But, it is believed that its hory and design dates back to the mid-19th century.

According to a People report, Garrard, who made the ring, was inspired a similar piece of heirloom accessory that Prince Albert commissioned for his bride-to-be Queen Victoria in 1840. The large sapphire was surrounded 12 round diamonds and set in gold. The queen loved it so much she even wore it to her wedding.

The brooch was seen on her for many years after that, and when she died in 1901, it became an heirloom jewellery of the crown, which has since been worn every queen and queen consort.
Queen Elizabeth, who recently celebrated her platinum jubilee to mark the 70th anniversary of her accession, has also worn it many times.

According to Garrard & Co., when Charles was going through a selection of rings ahead of his proposal to Diana, he was particularly taken the sapphire and diamond ring, because it purportedly reminded him of the family brooch that he had seen on his grandmother and mother.

Diana, it is said, chose this very ring, since it matched with her blue eyes.
During their post-engagement interview, William had told the press that he chose the ring so as to remember his mother, since she was “not going to be around to share any of the fun and excitement of it all”. “This was my way of keeping her sort of close to it all…” he had said.

Diana had died in a car accident in Paris when William and his younger brother Prince Harry were teenagers.
Kate, during the interview, had rocked a blue outfit, which went perfectly with the ring. In all these years of their marriage, the ring has sat on her finger through every occasion, big and small.

Sapphires have always been liked and valued around the world for their timeless beauty and class, and also because they look unconventional. When Katrina Kaif married Vicky Kaushal last year, she, too, was seen sporting a sapphire ring, which many believed was inspired Diana/Kate’s ring.

The actor’s ring comprised a sapphire in the centre with diamonds encircling it. News reports said the engagement ring was a Tiffany Soleste with a price of a whopping Rs 7.41 lakhs.
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