Kate Middleton Slammed For Redesigning Princess Diana’s Famous Sapphire Earrings
Princess Diana is considered by many to be an untouchable icon. It is for that reason that many royal fans are fuming at the news that Kate Middleton had changed a set of Diana’s earrings to better fit her own style, per The Express.
The earrings were a pair that Princess Diana wore often, as they perfectly matched her engagement ring. In fact, Us Weekly called the set Diana’s “most prized set of jewels.” When William gave the set to Kate in 2012 after their nuptials, she allegedly removed several diamonds and changed the stud fastening to drop earrings.
However, not much can be said about the earrings without discussing Princess Diana’s famous engagement ring. The ring, which is valued at nearly half a million dollars, is a 12-carat sapphire surrounded by 14 solitaire diamonds and set in 18-karat white gold.
Prince William inherited the ring and gave it to Duchess of Cambridge during his 2010 proposal in Africa. Upon announcing their engagement, Kate even wore a blue wrap dress that matched the hue of the sapphire stone to honor the iconic piece of jewelry in the following photos and interview.
Both the Wales brothers inherited the jewels from their mother’s collection after her tragic death. In fact, Princess Diana specifically mentioned passing on her collection to the boys’ future wives in a “letter of wishes” included in her will.
“I would like to allocate all my jewelry to the share to be held by my sons, so that their wives may, in due course, have it or use it,” she wrote.
“I leave the exact division of the jewelry to your discretion.”
Kate Middleton removed diamonds from Princess Diana’s iconic earrings https://t.co/ncoytTKnZo pic.twitter.com/Dh6eUQgpUc
— Fabulous (@Fabulousmag) June 25, 2019
The news comes on the heels of Meghan Markle’s engagement ring redesign. The American actress turned royal recently faced criticism for adding additional diamonds and changing the band to her ring, as reported by The Inquisitr.
Prince Harry proposed to Meghan with a ring that he designed himself, which included two diamonds that were from his mother’s jewelry collection, along with a larger stone that came from Botswana.
Ingrid Seward, editor-in-chief of Majesty Magazine, was particularly hard on the duchess, calling it an “odd” decision and lamenting that the Suits actress had changed a “piece of history.”
“I find it a bit odd Meghan would want to alter a ring that her husband had specially designed for her,” Seward said.
“A royal engagement ring is a piece of history, not a bit of jewelry to be updated when it looks old fashioned.”
