© Photo: PAThe Duchess of Sussex recently surprised royal watchers with a dramatic change to her engagement ring. Since giving birth to little Archie, Meghan has showcased her new band on two separate occasions. But she is by no means the first royal to have made a change to her engagement ring, or to other significant pieces of jewellery. Grace Kelly, Princess Diana and Princess Mary of Denmark also made big changes to their stunning sparklers following their royal weddings.
GALLERY: The most beautiful royal weddings of all time
The Countess of Wessex and the Duchess of Cambridge have also had some other pieces of jewellery in their collection redesigned. Sophie modified her wedding tiara, while Kate has tweaked her sapphire earrings. Although there are only a select few jewels that have been changed over the years, here at HELLO!, we take a look through some of our favourites…
© Photo: PAMeghan Markle
Almost two years after her engagement was announced, new mum Meghan was pictured with her redesigned engagement ring. Her gorgeous sparkler features two of the late Princess Diana's diamonds - and it looks absolutely beautiful! During her post-baby appearances at Trooping the Colour and when she introduced baby Archie to the world, eagle-eyed fans noticed that the iconic ring's gold band has been replaced by a delicate diamond-studded band.
GALLERY: Royal weddings held in Windsor
The original band was made of gold and the ring was made by Cleave and Company, Court Jewelers and Medalists to Her Majesty The Queen. The trilogy ring boasts a large central diamond flanked on either side by two smaller jewels. The stones were specially selected by Prince Harry; the central diamond is from Botswana, where the couple previously vacationed together, and the other two diamonds are from his late mother's personal collection.
© Photo: Getty ImagesPrincess Diana
On 6 February 1981, Prince Charles proposed to Lady Diana Spencer during a private dinner at Buckingham Palace. But it wasn't until a few weeks later that the world caught a glimpse of the newly-engaged couple – and the all-important engagement ring, which the late Princess Diana picked herself. When the official engagement photos were released, the ring only had eight prongs - two in each corner. Years after the engagement, six more prongs were added.
The iconic sparkler, which was originally created by Garrard & Co., the former Crown Jeweller, was worth £28,000 at the time. It's now valued at approximately £300,000. The 12-carat oval Ceylon sapphire is surrounded by 14 solitaire diamonds and set in 18-carat white gold. The ring has since been passed down to Prince William's wife Kate.
Keep scrolling to see more pictures...
© Photo: Getty ImagesPrincess Mary of Denmark
Crown Princess Mary of Denmark's elaborate ruby cut diamond engagement ring matches the national colours of Denmark, and was presented to her by Prince Frederik of Denmark when he proposed in autumn 2003. The stunning piece features an emerald-cut diamond with two emerald-cut rubies on either side. The royal later added another smaller diamond next to each of the rubies.
MORE: A look back at all the iconic royal wedding kisses through the years
© Photo: Getty ImagesGrace Kelly
American actress Grace Kelly was originally proposed to with a ruby and diamond eternity ring by Cartier. However, Prince Rainier III of Monaco wanted to give her something bigger, so he then bought her another Cartier engagement ring; this time a 12-carat emerald cut diamond flanked with two baguettes on either side. This piece of jewellery then became iconic and made its Hollywood debut in Grace's last movie, High Society, alongside Bing Crosby and Frank Sinatra.
© Photo: Getty ImagesThe Countess of Wessex
On her wedding day to Prince Edward, the Countess of Wessex wore a tiara made up of four open scrollwork motifs. The headpiece called the 'Anthemion' came from the Queen's private collection and was designed and remodelled by the Crown Jeweller, David Thomas of Asprey and Garrard. Two decades later, royal fans noticed that the British royal had redesigned the tiara in a brand new setting when she attended the Buckingham Palace state banquet, which was held in honour of the President of the United States in June. The Countess has worn the tiara on a number of occasions since her wedding day, though the recent change at this month's event is thought to be the first time she has rearranged the piece.
READ: Why Prince Edward and the Countess of Wessex didn't kiss publicly on their wedding day
© Photo: Getty ImagesThe Duchess of Cambridge
Royal watchers recently noticed a difference in a pair of Princess Diana's sapphire earrings, last worn by Kate on a visit to Scotland in January. The earrings were often worn by the late Princess Diana as they perfectly matched her sapphire engagement ring. When Prince William and Kate opened the V&A Dundee earlier this year, the mum-of-three had some of the diamonds removed, and had transformed the gorgeous accessories into drop earrings. The earrings had previously featured a second circular sapphire detail, which kept them fastened to Diana's ears with a stud.
GALLERY: Every time Kate and other royals have borrowed the Queen's jewellery
© Photo: Getty ImagesQueen Mary's Lover's Knot Tiara
The Duchess of Cambridge first wore one of Princess Diana's favourite tiaras at a state banquet at Buckingham Palace in 2015. In 1981, the Queen loaned the Lover's Knot Tiara to Princess Diana as a wedding gift and, although Diana wore the Spencer Tiara for the big day, the Lover's Knot was one of her favourite pieces.
MORE: Who is inside Duchess Kate's inner circle?
Following Diana's death, the tiara wasn't seen publicly until Kate borrowed it from Her Majesty. The Duchess has since worn the special tiara four times. The tiara, of course, was originally made for Queen Mary as a replica of a tiara owned by her grandmother. The headpiece was then inherited by the Queen in 1953 when Mary died. The Lover's Knot consists of diamonds and a collection of hanging pearls set in silver and gold. The piece, which was was originally commissioned from famous court jewellers Garrard, consists of 19 arches, 38 drop-shaped pearls - 19 of which hang as pendants and another 19 which serve as the removable upright pearl spikes. However, the upright pearl drops are removable and have only been seen on Queen Mary.
© Photo: Getty ImagesThe Duchess of Cornwall
The Duchess of Cornwall's Delhi Durbar Tiara was loaned to her by her mother-in-law, the Queen. This spectacular Garrard's diamond headpiece, mounted in gold and set in platinum, was worn by Camilla when she attended her first-ever royal banquet at Buckingham Palace in 2005. The stunning tiara was previously worn by Queen Mary to celebrate the coronation of her husband King George V in Delhi. The tiara was originally set with 10 cabochon emerald drops on top, and set in platinum and gold. Queen Mary then had Garrard alter the piece to accommodate a jewel change. Today, Camilla wears the tiara without any jewels on the top.
Make sure you never miss a ROYAL story! Sign up to our newsletter to get all of our celebrity, royal and lifestyle news delivered directly to your inbox.
