You don’t need to get very far into season four ofThe Crown to see the cracks emerging in the relationship between Princess Diana and Prince Charles. You don’t even need to get as far as the wedding.
It’s in episode three that the young Diana – wide-eyed and girlish in her sweater vestand pie-crust collar, played exquisitely by Emma Corrin – is presented with a tray of potential engagement rings by the Queen (‘a rather special box of chocolates,’ she calls it. Quite!) and a representative from Garrard, which was the official Crown Jeweller from 1843 to 2007.
This scene is a telling pre-cursor to the tensions that will eventually tear the marriage apart. Far from being an intimate moment between the couple, it is more like a formal business transaction – this boardroom just has bling rather than briefcases. It also hints at the independent streak Diana had, which would infuriate and bemuse the Royal Family in equal measure. Scanning the rings on offer she bypasses the ones in the royal collection, plumping instead for the now iconic sapphire design that is for sale in Garrard’s own collection.
Diana’s choice is still one of the most legendary engagement rings – and indeed, instantly recognisable pieces of jewellery – in history. A 12-carat oval Ceylon sapphire surrounded with 14 solitaire diamonds and set in 18-karat white gold, the Marguerite ring was inspired by a brooch that Prince Albert commissioned Garrard to make for his future wife, Queen Victoria, in 1840. In the show Diana settles on this one because, she says, it reminds her of her mother’s engagement rings and ‘it's the same colour as my eyes’. It has also been said that she chose it, quite simply, because it was the biggest ('it's the most expensive,' Charles quips in the scene) and a style that was fashionable in 1980s high society (it went on to be widely imitated, Diana was and still is the ultimate influencer).
Diana refused to use the word ‘obey’ in her wedding vows, and you could see her attempting to break free for the shackles of convention right from the get-go. Her choice of engagement ring was said to have raised eyebrows in the Royal Family, who traditionally wore one-of-a-kind, custom-made styles. Anyone could have bought this ring directly from Garrard – assuming they had £28,500 to spend (the equivalent of over £112,000 today). It might not have been unique but Diana, did however, have the ring customised a couple of years after the engagement, adding six prongs to the setting.
The marriage might have been troubled, but Diana loved the ring. So much so that she continued to wear it after her and Charles separated. After the divorce was finalised, however, she took to wearing a whopping aquamarine ring instead. You’ll probably recognise that too; Meghan Markle wore it with her Stella McCartney halter neck dress to her wedding reception in 2018.
READ MORE: Kate Middleton's Rings: A Definitive Guide To The Duchess's Jewellery
Indeed, it was Prince Harry who initially inherited the engagement ring too. In a touching act, he offered it to his brother Prince William when he proposed to Kate Middleton in 2010, who has a fondness for symbolic jewellery. At the engagement announcement William told ITV: ‘It's my mother's engagement ring and it's very special to me, as Kate is very special to me now as well. It was only right the two were put together’.
He added, ‘It was my way of making sure mother didn't miss out on today and the excitement and the fact that we're going to spend the rest of our lives together’. It might not have marked the beginning of a fairytale union, but in some ways the ring will get its happily ever after; it will make it onto the throne one day.
SEE: The Most Beautiful Royal Family Jewellery
1 of 24The Queen Mary Russian Fringe tiara
For her wedding day on 20 November 1947, the Queen wore her grandmother's Russian Fringe tiara.
2 of 24The Queen Mary Russian Fringe Tiara
She's worn it several times since and so too as Princess Anne, who, in what must have been a great moment of nostalgia for her mother, wore it on her wedding day to Mark Phillips in 1973.
3 of 24The Queen Mary Russian Fringe tiara
As well as borrowing one of her grandmother's dresses for her nuptials, Princess Beatrice wore the very same diamond tiara that the Queen wore on her wedding day in November 1947.
4 of 24Princess Diana’s Engagement Ring
If rumours are to be believed, the royal family didn't approve of the engagement ring chosen by Princess Diana. According to Brides, she picked the ring, with its stunningly big sapphire surrounded by 14 solitaire diamonds, from the House of Garrard. The problem was that it also appeared in the jeweler's catalogue, which meant that anyone with enough money (£47,000 to be precise) could technically have bought it. The princess still cherished the ring, however, wearing it even after she divorced Prince Charles in 1996.
5 of 24Princess Diana’s Engagement Ring
Prince William inherited his mother's engagement ring - and it reappeared on the announcement of his engagement to Kate Middleton on 16 November 2010.
6 of 24Meghan Markle's Engagement Ring
Meghan Markle made headlines in June 2019 when she (shock horror!) altered her engagement ring, swapping gold for a diamond pavé band. While the ring itself is new, commissioned by Prince Harry from Cleave & Company, who hold a royal warrant for the design, manufacture and supply of insignia, the twin stones sitting either side of the central diamond belonged to Princess Diana.
7 of 24The Four-Strand Pearl Choker
The Queen is rarely seen in public without pearls, but this four-strand choker, strung from a diamond pendant that sits at the centre, is one of her finest. According to The Telegraph, the pearls themselves were gifted from the Japanese government, and it's subsequently been worn by both Princess Diana and the Duchess of Cambridge. Queen Alexandra, Queen Victoria's daughter-in-law, actually started the trend for ornate chokers in Edwardian England. She wore them to cover a small scar and it's become something of a royal family signature.
8 of 24The Four-Strand Pearl Choker
Kate Middleton wore the pearl choker to celebrate the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh's 70th wedding anniversary in November 2017.
9 of 24The Greville Emerald Kokoshnik Tiara
For her wedding day on 12 October 2018, Princess Eugenie wore the Greville Emerald Kokoshnik tiara made by Boucheron, a piece, according to Vogue, that was actually gifted to the Queen Mother on the death of Dame Margaret Greville.
10 of 24The Nizam Of Hyderabad Necklace
This diamond necklace from Cartier was one of the Queen's wedding gifts, not from her betrothed but from the Nizam of Hyderabad.
11 of 24The Nizam Of Hyderabad Necklace
Kate Middleton, wearing a Jenny Packham ball gown with a criss-cross neckline that needed something seriously bedazzled, borrowed the necklace for a visit to the National Portrait Gallery in 2014.
12 of 24Queen Mary’s Emerald And Diamond Choker
Princess Diana's fashion sense has become the stuff of legend, and it's not hard to see why when you look at how effortlessly she repurposed Queen Mary's emerald and diamond choker, looping it around her forehead for a visit to Melbourne, Australia, in 1985.
13 of 24The Spencer Tiara
She's also wearing the Queen Mary emerald and diamond choker here, but this time with the addition of the Spencer tiara, the heirloom that, according to The Court Jeweller, was worn by all three daughters (Jane, Sarah and Diana) on their wedding days. Princess Diana subsequently wore it on numerous occasions, and is pictured here at a banquet in Mayfair's Claridge's Hotel in 1988.
14 of 24The Maple Leaf Brooch
It's customary for the state visit wardrobe to reflect the country it's visiting (green in Ireland, tartan in Scotland etc), hence why several members of the royal family have pinned this maple leaf brooch on their lapels for visits to Canada. According to The Crown Chronicle, it belonged to the Queen Mother, who wore it on the 1930 tour to Canada and subsequently lent it to the Queen, the Duchess of Cornwall and the Duchess of Cambridge.
15 of 24The Maple Leaf Brooch
Kate Middleton wore the maple leaf brooch for a visit to the the Calgary Zoo in 2011.
16 of 24The Cartier Halo Tiara
It's now associated with the money shot of Kate Middleton glancing over her left shoulder on 29 April 2011 (otherwise known as her wedding day), but doesn't the Queen's halo tiara from Cartier look rather spiffing on Princess Anne's bouffant circa 1970? The tiara was the Queen's 18th birthday present from her parents so holds a special place in the royal family's collection.
17 of 24The Cartier Halo Tiara
The tiara crowning Kate's half-up-half-down 'do for her wedding day in April 2011.
18 of 24The Delhi Durbar Necklace
This necklace, set with nine emeralds owned by Queen Mary's grandmother and an 8.8 carat Cullinan VII diamond, was part of a collection made for Queen Mary's appearance at the Delhi Durbar. According to the Royal Collection Trust, this was a ceremony marking King George V's succession as King Emperor of India in 1911.
19 of 24The Delhi Durbar Necklace
The Queen has worn the necklace on several occasions, often pairing it with the emerald and diamond Vladimir tiara or, as pictured here, the Girls of Great Britain and Ireland tiara.
20 of 24The Lover's Knot Tiara
This hanging pearl and diamond tiara was crafted by the House of Garrard, the crown jeweller, more than 100 years ago. It became a favourite of Princess Diana's, who used it to crown a pearl-encrusted Catherine Walker outfit that came to be known as 'the Elvis look' in Hong Kong, but she returned it to the royal coffers after divorcing Prince Charles in the late Nineties.
21 of 24The Lover's Knot Tiara
The lover's knot tiara has since been worn by Kate Middleton, pictured here at a state banquet in June 2019.
22 of 24The Queen Mary Bandeau Tiara
Meghan Markle's only worn one tiara as the Duchess of Sussex, the understated bandeau-style that she chose on her wedding day. It complemented the clean lines of her Givenchy gown to perfection and belonged to the Queen's grandmother, Queen Mary.
23 of 24The Girls Of Great Britain and Ireland Tiara
This tiara takes its name, according to The Court Jeweller, from the committee of women who gifted the diamond design, made by the House of Garrard in 1893, to Queen Mary when she married.
24 of 24The Girls Of Great Britain and Ireland Tiara
The heirloom was subsequently passed down to the Queen, who, according to the Royal Collection Trust, can be seen wearing it on our currency, specifically the £20 note.