Riddle grows over source of diamonds in Meghan ring
THE mystery of the £45,000 ‘pinky ring’ worn by the Duchess of Sussex on the cover of Time magazine has deepened following claims that its ‘Middle East’ diamonds were originally given to Prince Harry while he was a working Royal.
There was confusion last week when the Duchess’s PR team denied reports in the US that the emerald-cut ring had been made from diamonds gifted by a mysterious ‘Middle Eastern’ donor, only to then back-track.
This weekend, a report in the New York Post’s Page Six column claimed that the ring – and a matching set of earrings worn by Meghan to a premiere of The Lion King in London in July 2019 – were created using a collection of diamonds gifted to the Duke of Sussex.
According to the report, he passed the stones to Meghan who asked New York jeweller Lorraine Schwartz to ‘rework’ them for her.
The 1.5-carat ‘pinky’ ring has become a favourite with the 40-yearold Duchess, who has worn it in several video appearances as well as for the photograph adorning the front cover of the latest edition of Time. The issue features its list of the most influential people in the world, including Meghan and Harry.
As well as wearing the diamond stud earrings to The Lion King premiere when Harry told Disney boss Bob Iger that his wife was available for voiceover work, they chose them for that year’s Trooping the Colour ceremony.
The mystery over the provenance of the stones comes after the Duchess was criticised for wearing a pair of chandelier diamond earrings during a tour of Fiji in 2018 that were a gift from Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman. He has been accused of involvement in the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi, which he has denied. There is no suggestion of any impropriety by either the Duke or Duchess of Sussex.
Questions over the diamonds worn by Meghan on the Time cover have been the source of speculation for days. One US commentator said: ‘Even though they are no longer members of the working Royals, if Harry got given diamonds when he was a member of the Royal Family they ought to disclose who gifted them.’
Meghan’s publicists originally denied she was wearing the pinky ring, saying the item had been loaned by a stylist on the shoot. They later clarified that they had, in fact, been referring to two rings by designer Shiffon she wore on her opposite little finger.
A representative for Ms Schwartz declined to comment.