Prince Harry’s touching sacrifice for Kate Middleton meant Meghan Markle lost out when she eventually married the prince.
The Duke of Cambridge proposed to Kate with his late mother’s engagement ring – a ring which Prince Harry had initially chosen as a keepsake.
Prince William presented his long-term girlfriend with the sapphire and diamond band, which is one of the most famous pieces of jewellery in history.
The ring was worn by Princess Diana, and later handed to Kate Middleton to mark the engagement, The Mirror reports.
However, though it was destined for her – the Duchess of Cambridge was not always going to have the famous ring, and only received it as a sacrifice from Prince Harry, her future brother-in-law.
In 1997, after the death of their mother, the boys were asked to choose a “keepsake” from her belongings.
Prince William chose his mother’s Cartier watch, while Harry chose the sapphire and diamond engagement ring, according to royal sources.
Harry was just 12 when he chose to keep his mum’s engagement ring.
However, as William was the first to get engaged he gave it up so his older brother could offer it to his bride, Kate Middleton.
The source said: “They had an agreement that whoever got engaged first would have Diana’s ring – and of course that was William and Kate.”
So when William popped the question in Africa in 2010, he used the family heirloom and Kate proudly showed it off in the couple’s official engagement photos.
But this of course meant that when Harry knew it was time to ask Meghan Markle to be his wife in 2017, he needed to find a ring.
While he didn’t have one of his mum’s old pieces, he made sure to include her in the stunning final design.
He designed the ring himself, using two diamonds from Diana’s collection and one from Botswana, where he does a lot of charity work.
However, Meghan decided to redesign the ring slightly, making it even more glitz.
Instead of the original thick gold band, the diamonds now sit on a much thinner micropavé band.
It’s unclear when the work was done, however she was spotted without the ring during the last few months of her pregnancy so it could have been done then.
Both Kate and Meghan wear their engagement rings alongside Welsh gold wedding rings, as is traditional for royal women.