If you've been watching the fourth season of The Crown, you know Prince Charles and Princess Diana's marriage was an unhappy one. Though the royals' ended up divorcing, the engagement ring Prince Charles gave to Princess Diana is one of the most iconic pieces of jewelry in modern history.
Nearly 30 years after his parents' engagement, Prince William proposed to Kate Middleton with his mother's ring. Over the past 10 years, the Duchess of Cambridge is frequently photographed wearing the beautiful sapphire and diamond ring while carrying out her official royal duties. Since Prince William is the oldest of Princess Diana's children, many assumed he inherited the ring after her tragic passing. It turns out, though, the ring actually went to Prince Harry originally.
In the recent Amazon Prime documentary The Diana Story, Princess Diana's former butler and close confidante Paul Burrell revealed the ring officially belonged to Harry before William and Kate's engagement. According to Burrell, Harry offered the ring to his brother when William was preparing for his big proposal.
"Harry said to him: 'Wouldn’t it be fitting if she had mummy’s ring?'" Burrell says in the documentary. "Then one day that ring will be sat on the throne of England. Harry gave up his precious treasure. His one thing he kept from his mother, he gave to his brother. That’s selfless, kind and exactly who Diana was."
Giving his brother the ring, of course, meant Harry was unable to give it to his own wife, Meghan Markle, when he proposed eight years later. Instead, Harry designed a brand new ring for his bride when the time came to get down on one knee. Meghan's engagement ring features a three-carat cushion cut center diamond from Botswana—the country Harry whisked Meghan away to when they first started dating—and two round diamonds on the side chosen from Princess Diana's personal jewelry collection.
Photo: Getty