Rumours have it that Prince Harry agonised over the design of his wife Meghan Markle’s engagement ring – but is the ring on the Duchess’ finger the original design?
The ring on Meghan Markle’s finger may just reveal why the American has been dubbed ‘Duchess Difficult’. The nickname was given to The Duchess of Sussex by terrified staff, following reports the 44-year-old “makes grown men cry”.
In other less than complimentary nicknames, Prince Harry’s wife has also been called “a dictator in heels” who “belittles people and doesn’t take advice”, and “Di two”.
With 22 staff members walking away from working with Meghan, over six years – nine making the dash since The Sussexes relocated to Montecito, California – with many former staff branding her as “difficult”, there might be some fire behind the smoke, reports The Express.
One potential clue to Meghan’s manner lies in her engagement ring, which Prince Harry painstakingly designed for her in 2017 – it appears to have been tweaked three times since Harry proposed to the former Suits actress
Prince Harry commissioned the late Queen’s trusted jeweller, Cleave & Company, to craft a bespoke piece for his future wife.
The 41-year-old even secretly borrowed a ring from Meghan’s collection so the craftsmen could determine her size and, ensuring his mother would ‘bless’ their union, took diamonds from one of Diana’s bracelets for the creation.
He paired this with a substantial ethically-sourced diamond from Botswana, the African nation where he and Meghan first fell in love during their third date.
When he eventually proposed on November 4th, 2017, in the grounds of Kensington Palace’s Nottingham Cottage, the sparkling ring was worth more than £120,000 featuring a solid yellow gold band adorned with the three diamonds.
Yet it appears the ring wasn’t quite the fit. In June 2019, Meghan was spotted wearing the ring with a thinner band than the original design.
Little diamonds had been set down the sides of the ring, with one jewellery expert believing this was more aligned with “American style”.
She’d also added tiny diamonds along the ring’s edges, which one jewellery expert suggested reflected a more “American style”.
By 2022, there was fresh speculation that Meghan had tweaked the ring once more when it appeared at the Invictus Games in The Hague, seemingly featuring extra diamonds around the central stone’s setting.
Earlier this year, Royal watchers observed that the ring’s main diamond appeared more like an emerald cut rather than the original cushion cut when glimpsed in a trailer for Meghan’s Netflix series.
Meghan has been accused of being “absolutely relentless” with her staff, whilst Harry was described as “a very, very charming person” yet “very much an enabler” – with both Sussexes branded “poor decision makers” who “change their minds frequently”.
Previously, Meghan faced accusations of bullying palace personnel before the couple’s relocation to California, prompting Royal officials to launch an investigation into allegations of Meghan’s ” belittling” conduct towards two personal assistants.
The specifics of the report were never disclosed and the duchess has always vehemently denied the allegations, with her legal team branding them a “calculated smear campaign” at the time.
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