King Charles Was ‘Irritated’ by an Unexpected Detail in William’s Proposal to Kate, Claims Book
In November 2010, Prince William announced his engagement to his now wife, Kate Middleton. The two had a private holiday in October, where the Prince proposed to his partner with his mother's engagement ring. When the announcement was made a month later, the media had a field day with the choice of the ring as it belonged to the late Princess Diana. And allegedly, even King Charles was a little surprised by the turn of events.
Now, fifteen years later, it has been revealed that the King hadn't expected that his oldest would make his grand proposal using his ex-wife's engagement ring. Given the tumultuous nature of his first marriage and subsequent divorce from Diana, it does not come as a surprise that Charles was a little miffed with the choice. But the fact of the matter was, his son wanted his mother to be a part of his life and relationship, even if she was no longer with him physically.
Former royal correspondent Robert Jobson's new book, The Windsor Legacy, shed light on the matter, writing about a conversation he had with a senior royal aide, "Privately, Charles was surprised, even ‘a little irritated’ that William had proposed to Catherine using the same 12-carat Ceylon sapphire and diamond ring from Garrard’s 1981 catalogue, that he had presented to Diana on their engagement."
The King probably didn't think that Diana would continue to be a part of their lives, even decades after she was gone. That too, so intricately. With how their marriage ended, the media scrutiny it got, and even now, how much Diana is still as much a part of the conversation as she was when she was still alive, the King probably was irked that even in their son's engagement, she had become such an integral part.
As many might know, Diana's engagement ring was given to Prince Harry as a keepsake. But as he mentioned in his book, Spare, he was "happy to let it go" so that his brother could give it to Kate. Talking about why he proposed to Middleton with his mother's engagement ring, William once spoke on why he chose the ring, saying, "It's my mother's engagement ring so I thought it was quite nice because obviously she's not going to be around to share any of the fun and excitement of it all - this was my way of keeping her close to it all."
The couple got engaged in Kenya, and as William later revealed, he had been keeping the special ring in his backpack for 3 weeks before he finally proposed. Thankfully, he kept it safe; otherwise, he'd have been in a "lot of trouble" had he lost it. Months later, in April of 2011, they tied the knot. Middleton is often spotted wearing the same 12-carat Ceylon sapphire and diamond ring, along with other jewelry pieces.