Singing sensation Camilla Kerslake has revealed for the first time why she and rugby hero Chris Robshaw kept their engagement secret for two and a half years - and how the diamond ring he had made for her was stolen in the 2015 Hatton Garden jewellery heist.
"We wanted to choose the right moment to announce our engagement," Camilla told Hello! "It wouldn’t have been appropriate when Chris was playing at the World Cup or I was making an album. And I certainly didn’t want it to come out through someone spotting me wearing my ring when I was taking out the bins, shopping at Tesco’s or looking shiny at the gym."
Camilla and Chris at their engagement party at Ten Trinity Square Private Club
The 31-year-old Harlequins and former England captain engineered a surprise proposal in February 2015, romantically going down on one knee at the opera house in Paris. "It was completely surreal," recalled Camilla, who first met the burly flanker at a charity ball seven years ago. "You always wonder how you’re going to react, but I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, what are you doing?’"
The 29-year-old soprano, who has sung for the Queen, also said, ‘I will’, and Chris commissioned a stunning diamond engagement ring from designer Tom Hubbard in London’s jewellery quarter, Hatton Garden.
The couple at the Attitude Awards 2017
However, after the couple jetted off for an Easter break in Barbados, the ring was stolen in the infamous £14 million Hatton Garden heist. "I was heartbroken," Camilla told Hello! "It was the sparkliest diamond I’d ever seen and I thought I’d never see it again. We’d put so much thought and love into choosing it and it was gone." After police later arrested the gang, they recovered Camilla’s ring.
READ: Camilla Kerslake speaks exclusively to HELLO! about boyfriend Chris Robshaw
She finally showcased the bobby dazzler when she attended Wimbledon with Chris earlier this year. Last week the couple celebrated their engagement with a star-studded party that included guests Jack Whitehall, Susanna Reid, Piers Morgan and Hollywood producer Francesca Dutton. "I had a fantastic evening celebrating our engagement with our closest friends and family," Chris told Hello! "I couldn’t have asked for more. And I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with the person who makes me smile in the darkest times."
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