William and Kate Have a Perfect Partnership ― But They Differ on One Wedding Tradition
The Prince and Princess of Wales may be the picture of a modern-day fairytale, but when it comes to wedding jewellery, they have taken very different paths.
Prince William capped his beautiful love story with Kate Middleton by proposing to her with his mother, Princess Diana’s iconic sapphire engagement ring, and in the past 15 years, she has hardly parted from it. In fact, the stunning ring always steals attention whenever the Princess of Wales steps out for her public duties. Yet, William's left hand looks noticeably bare. Weeks before their Westminster Abbey wedding, St. James Palace confirmed that the Prince had chosen not to wear a wedding ring ― a personal preference that contrasts sharply with his wife's headline-making jewelry.
Over the years, Middleton has carefully curated her ring stack by adding her Welsh gold wedding band and three eternity rings. But William has never been spotted with any accessories on his hands or fingers. And the reason is rather simple: he doesn’t like wearing jewellery. As per HELLO! a palace insider explained, “He's (William) not one for jewellery. He's never worn any. He decided he didn't want to wear one now. It's all down to personal preference.”
Royal commentator Eloise Parker added her own two cents to the matter during a 2018 interview with Marie Claire. “Although it's traditional for royal women to wear both an engagement ring and a wedding ring after they get married, it's never been traditional for royal men to wear one,” she said. And most certainly, William is not the only male royal to not wear a ring. His grandfather, Prince Phillip, wasn’t very fond of the accessory either, as Parker further added, "That's why Prince Philip and Prince William don't wear them. I think when you have a wedding watched by millions, everyone knows you're married.”
On the other hand, William’s father and brother have opted to wear a ring. King Charles reportedly wears a signet ring on the little finger of his left hand, while Prince Harry had a platinum wedding band made ahead of his wedding to Meghan Markle. Both his and Markle’s wedding jewellery was reportedly made by Cleave and Company.
Apart from her sapphire engagement ring and her wedding band, Middleton has added rings to her stack for special reasons. Her first eternity ring is a $2,500 Annoushka diamond ring that was gifted to her by William after the birth of their first child, Prince George. She then debuted a $5,500 diamond and sapphire Cartier band during her cancer recovery. And most recently, she was spotted wearing a thin pavé diamond band, which she first sported at the Duchess of Kent’s funeral last year.
Although the Princess of Wales has a beautiful five-ring stack, it’s her iconic engagement ring that usually does the talking. But more than that, what’s more important to note is that even though William and Middleton may not agree on the number of accessories one should adorn, they have displayed a perfect partnership over the years, being the faces of a modern era.
