Princess Anne Unveils New Portrait of Charles — and People Think It's a Subtle Tribute To Philip
King Charles's newest royal portrait, unveiled at the Scottish Parliament on September 25, featured him smiling brightly at Sunken Garden, the grounds of his beloved Highlands estate at Balmoral Castle. The portrait was unveiled by his sister, Princess Anne, and it showed Charles in a traditional Scottish kilt made from his famous tartan and holding a handcrafted walking stick, which was a gift from the Mey Highland Games.
However, what caught the attention of royal watchers was his new ring. On his little finger gleamed a gold signet ring, a jewel that has long been part of his public persona, but now with an intriguing twist — a quiet nod to his late father, Prince Phillip.
Netizens pointed out that the familiar emblem of the Prince of Wales seems to have been replaced, but by something that belongs to his father. The engraving on Charles’s current ring, they argue, resembles the coat of arms of the Greek royal family. “Could that be his father’s ring? IIRC he used one in his younger years, then dropped wearing it,” a Reddit user suggested. Another chimed in with conviction, “Yeah, that looks like the Greek one to me.”
Their observations mirror archival photos of a young Prince Philip, who was often seen wearing a near-identical ring. That piece, believed to have been passed down to him from his father, Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark, carried the arms of a Greek prince. A curious netizen wondered, "Anyhow, it is about time he stopped incorrectly bearing the Prince of Wales badge, but would he have any right to bear the Royal Coat of Arms of Greece? Of course, his father was of the Greek royal family, but he was never the heir."
For decades, Charles wore a ring engraved with the badge of the Prince of Wales, three ostrich feathers, crowned with a coronet, and the motto, "Ich Dien” (I serve). It was a symbol of his identity as heir apparent and one he wore with quiet pride throughout his record-breaking 64 years in the role.
The ring, according to jewelry historian Helen Dimmick, who spoke to HELLO!, was a gift from his uncle, the Duke of Windsor, who once bore the same title before his abdication in 1936. Dimmick said, "For the then Prince of Wales, this was a very personal and symbolic jewel – the precious yellow gold oval bezel is engraved with his heraldic badge of three ostrich feathers emerging from a gold coronet, with the ribbon below bearing the motto ‘Ich Dien’... We understand this very signet ring was a gift for King Charles from his Uncle, Prince Edward, the Duke of Windsor, the previous Prince of Wales." She also, in a conversation with Reader's Digest, had explained the significance of a Signet ring. "The ring had your family crest or coat of arms engraved. You would press it into hot wax and then on the paper or document — it would leave a permanent mark.”