Future princess Kate Middleton was showed off her engagement ring, which once belonged to Princess Diana, at a special press conference and interview today.
This ring obviously links Kate to the myth of Princess Diana, but William claims that this isn’t about creating a Diana 2.0:
“It’s about carving your own future. No one is trying to fill my mother’s shoes. . . [but the ring] “is my way of keeping her close to it all.”
Kate Middleton (L) proudly displays the ring once worn by Princess Diana (R)
Photo: REUTERS/Paul Hackett/Dan Chung
Apparently Kate received the ring only on the good graces of her future brother-in-law Harry. When Princess Diana died in 1997 Harry chose to possess this sapphire ring, while William took a gold Cartier watch.
The large sapphire ring is surrounded by 14 diamonds in 18k gold. It cost Prince Charles about $40,000 when he bought it for Di in 1981.
A video of the engagement press conference:
Prince William had been contemplating proposing to Kate for a while, and finally did it three weeks ago during a trip to Kenya:
And a couple more parting glances of the ring:
All Photos: REUTERS/Suzanne Plunkett (unless otherwise noted)