Prince designed ring with Diana’s tiara diamonds

Harry also included gems from Botswana and took some inspiration from his grandparents’ relationship

IT WAS described as “beautiful” by Meghan Markle, and as the perfect way to incorporate his late mother into his special day by Prince Harry. One thing is for sure: the engagement ring was no last-minute buy.

Prince Harry incorporated diamonds from his late mother’s collection into the ring, which he designed himself, taking inspiration from the 70year marriage of his grandparents, the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh.

The large centre stone, also a diamond, came from Botswana, a country that is close to the Prince’s heart and somewhere that the couple have spent time together throughout their relationship.

The two outside stones are diamonds from the collection of Diana, Princess of Wales in a poignant tribute in the year of the 20th anniversary of her death.

A delighted Ms Markle beamed as she showed the ring to the world yesterday, admiring it sparking in the light of Kensington Palace’s White Garden, this summer dedicated as a memorial to the late Princess of Wales.

The band is made of gold and the ring was made by Cleave and Company, Court Jewellers and Medallists to Her Majesty The Queen.

Prince Harry, who has clearly been planning his proposal for some time, took inspiration directly from his grandfather who designed the engagement ring he gave to the then-princess Elizabeth in 1947.

He too used diamonds belonging to his mother, Princess Alice of Greece, taken from a tiara she had given him for the very purpose, commissioning jewellers Philip Antrobus Ltd to turn them into a ring fit for a Queen.

Explaining his choice of yellow gold, Prince Harry disclosed that it was his girlfriend’s “favourite” and that he chose Diana’s diamonds “to make sure she’s with us on this crazy journey together”.

“It’s beautiful,” said Ms Markle. “That he designed it himself is incredible.”

Praising her fiancé’s “thoughtfulness”, she added “Obviously not being able to meet his mum it’s so important to me to know that she’s a part of this with us. It’s incredibly special. And to be able to have this, which sort of links where you come from and Botswana which is important to us … it’s perfect.”

Asked how his mother would feel about Ms Markle, he said: “Oh they’d be thick as thieves, without question. I think she would be over the moon, jumping up and down, you know, so excited for me. But then, as I said, she would have probably been best friends with Meghan.

“You know it is days like today when I really miss having her around and miss being able to share the happy news. But you know, with the ring and with everything else that’s going on, I’m sure she’s with us, jumping up and down somewhere else.”

When Prince William proposed to Catherine Middleton, now the Duchess of Cambridge, he gave her Diana’s sapphire and diamond engagement ring.

He hid the oval blue 18-carat ring in a rucksack so that he could pop the question while the couple were on holiday in Kenya, saying later that it had been his way of ensuring his late mother could be part of the occasion.

“It is very special to me,” he said in 2010. “It was my way to make sure my mother did not miss out on today and the excitement that we are going to spend the rest of our lives together.”