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I’ll admit to buying a knock-off of THE engagement ring.
The one with the 12-carat Ceylon sapphire, surrounded by 14 solitaire diamonds set in 18-carat white gold.
The late Princess of Wales selected the ring – made by Garrard – from a tray of jewels when Prince Charles proposed in 1981.
The Wales boys kept the ring, among other pieces, after their mother’s death in 1997, and William chose to give it to his fiance, Catherine Middleton in October 2010.
“It’s very special to me. As Kate’s very special to me now, it was right to put the two together,” William explained on November 16th, 2010, the day they announced their engagement at Clarence House.
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“It was my way of making sure my mother didn’t miss out on today and the excitement, and the fact that we’re going to spend the rest of our lives together.”
Recently, the Historic Royal Palaces gift shop at Kensington Palace (where the Duke and Duchess have a home) had replicas made for a “Princess Diana” collection.
The Daily Express reports, however, that that the rings will not be sold.
“We do make the ring but they don’t want us to supply it to the gift shop,” a rep from the manufacturers Bill Skinner Studio told the Daily Mail.
Insiders believe that the Duchess of Cambridge has successfully shut the operation down, due to “personal sentiment the real ring holds in connection to” Diana.
ARTHUR EDWARDS/AFP/Getty Images
That’s a good enough reason, I’d say.
“I expect the feeling at Kensington Palace is that it’s rather naff to sell cheap copies of Diana’s engagement ring,” a palace source said.
“One can hardly blame Kate for vetoing the idea of them selling a knock-off of the ring she wears every day.”
Copies of the matching earrings, necklaces and even a charm of the ring are for sale on the site, however, so.
It’s one thing to buy a cheapie version of the ring online and walk around your room thanking imaginary members of Parliament. It’s quite another to think you’re hot-to-trot by buying it from a store that includes the words Historical, Royal and Palaces.
Keep your shame behind closed doors like any decent fangirl would.
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Historic Royal Palaces acts as an independent charity in charge of keeping up the Tower of London, Hampton Court Palace, the Banqueting House, Kensington Palace, Kew Palace and Hillsborough Castle.
Historical Royal Palaces does not receive funding from the Government nor the Crown.
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