Kate Middleton Debuted a Ring Stack—Featuring All 4 of Her Heirloom Rings—for the First Time
At the time, many royal jewelry experts offered explanations for why the princess might have switched from an engagement ring to a stack of eternity bands. “Royal women wear their engagement rings in different ways, just like the rest of us,” said Lauren Kiehna, founder of The Court Jeweller blog, to People magazine. Indeed, Queen Letizia, Meghan Markle, and Sophie, the Duchess of Edinburgh, have all been known to take off their engagement ring for protracted periods of time. Perhaps, with its 12-carat sapphire and 18-karat white gold band, the engagement ring is simply too heavy for day-to-day wear.
Or, Kiehna noted, the dazzling jewel may not be seen as suitable for a royal’s more “intimate” engagements. Indeed, the princess has been making her return to public duties with some quieter, more personal events, and she may feel that the grandiose ring is unsuitable for, say, meeting fellow cancer patients at the Royal Marsden or offering a compassionate ear to the families of the Southport attacks.
Middleton was indeed as empathetic as ever on Saturday, comforting runner-up Amanda Anisimova after she failed to win a game in the finals. While awarding the second-place trophy to the American, Kate could be seen saying, “You should be so proud of yourself,” and Anisimova went on to reveal what happened during her “emotional” conversation with the princess.
