Meghan Markle is known for her love of expensive, highly personalised jewellery – but in recent weeks, one notable piece has been missing from her collection.
The Duchess of Sussex, 41, accepted a feminist award at a New York gala last night, donning a strapless $1,850 gold Johanna Ortiz dress with scalloped pattern detailing for the occasion.
However as the mother-of-two posed on the red carpet, it quickly became evident she wasn’t wearing her £140,000 diamond engagement ring.
It marked the second time this month Meghan has been seen without the ring, having previously been snapped walking in Los Angeles without the custom-made jewel.
While the reason the ring is missing hasn’t been revealed, the Duchess previously upgraded the engagement ring, adding a band of diamonds to the piece.
The Duchess of Sussex, 41, did not wear her £140,000 engagement ring last night – the second time she has been seen without the jewel in recent weeks
Instead of wearing the custom-made band which was given to her by Prince Harry in 2017, she was simply wearing her wedding band and an eternity ring
Prince Harry proposed to Meghan in November 2017 with a glittering ring comprising of a solid yellow gold band set with three diamonds.
At the time of their engagement, Prince Harry spoke about creating Meghan’s engagement ring with the help of jewelers Cleave and Company.
The custom design featured one diamond originally from Botswana and two smaller stones from Princess Diana’s collection.
At the time, he said: ‘The ring is obviously yellow gold because that’s [Meghan’s] favorite and the main stone itself I sourced from Botswana and the little diamonds either side are from my mother’s jewelry collection, to make sure that she’s with us on this crazy journey together.’
Meghan called it ‘incredible’, explaining: ‘Everything about Harry’s thoughtfulness and the inclusion of [Princess Diana’s stones] and obviously not being able to meet his mom, it’s so important to me to know that she’s a part of this with us.’
‘It’s incredibly special to be able to have this [ring], which sort of links where you come form and Botswana, which is important to us. It’s perfect.’
However the Duchess chose not to wear her engagement ring for a number of public engagements back in 2019 while pregnant with her son Archie.
When she appeared at Trooping the Colour that year, it emerged the Duchess had altered the custom made engagement ring that Prince Harry designed for her.
Prince Harry proposed to Meghan in November 2017 with a glittering ring comprising of a solid yellow gold band set with three diamonds (left). This was then changed to include a micro-pave band in 2019 (right)
At Trooping the Colour and at her Windsor Castle photo call with Prince Harry and newborn son Archie, the Duchess wore her three engagement diamonds set on a thin micro-pavé band.
Jewellery expert Arabel Lebrusan confirmed the ring had changed, and suggested it had been tweaked to make the original diamonds look bigger.
Arabel, owner the ethical jewellery brand Arabel Lebrusan, called the thinner band a popular trend, revealing: ‘Many celebrities do this, as the central stone looks bigger in comparison getting the wow factor.’
The jewellery expert pointed out the difference in the band, saying: ‘She now has little diamonds set down the sides of her engagement ring and the band also seems thinner than before.’
She also revealed that the glittering band only emphasised the Meghan’s diamonds, and added: ‘The diamond setting on the band looks like micro-set, this means there is very little metal in between the stones maximising the sparkle of the tiny diamonds.’
Arabel continued that she thought the new style suited the Duchess’ style ‘perfectly’, saying: ‘It does suit her style perfectly, and it fits her dainty fingers as well.’
Leora Moreno, owner of jewellery brand Leo With Love, said at the time the changes could have been changed to match Meghan’s eternity ring.
Proposal: During their engagement photocall in November 2017, pictured, Meghan discussed her ‘perfect’ ring, which Prince Harry designed himself
However Meghan showcased a new, thinner band, more in keeping with her love of dainty jewellery, in 2019
She explained: ‘It looks like the eternity ring has a channel pavé setting. The engagement ring looks to have an even smaller pavé setting, but perfectly matches the eternity band.’
The jeweler went on to explain the change may have been complex, saying that it required ‘fine skill and craftsmanship to change the band to something more delicate like a pavé setting.’
She added that that the modern style would suit Meghan for ‘years to come’ and was ‘the perfect combination of eye-catching and dainty’.
In 2022’s Finding Freedom, Omid Scobie claimed it was the Duke who altered Meghan’s ring.
In the biography, jeweller-to-the-stars Lorraine Schwartz said: “‘He’s the loveliest person ever. So romantic, so thoughtful.'”
The authors continued: ‘(So much so that Harry also thought to have Lorraine resize and reset Meghan’s engagement ring with a new diamond band.)’
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle at the Ms Foundation Women of Vision Awards at Ziegfeld Ballroom in New York last night
The Sussexes were joined at the gala at the Ziegfeld Ballroom in New York last night by Meghan’s mother, Doria Ragland
Prince Harry attends the event with Meghan and mother-in-law Doria Ragland and is seen following behind the two women
However in recent weeks, eagle eyed royal fans have spotted that Meghan’s engagement ring is once again missing.
Last week, the Duchess was spotted hiking without her husband Prince Harry near their $14million Montecito mansion – hours after missing King Charles’ coronation.
Meghan was joined on the fresh-air outing by her friends, Markus Anderson and Heather Dorak, in California on Sunday after celebrating her son Archie’s birthday on Saturday.
However she was not wearing her glittering diamond ring for the occasion.
And last night, the jewels were missing for a second time as she arrived at the Ms Foundation for Women’s 50th anniversary event at the Ziegfeld Ballroom in Manhattan.
During last night’s event, Meghan was simply wearing her wedding band, which is in yellow gold to match Prince Harry’s, and an eternity ring, which she began wearing after her son Archie was born.
It’s unknown why the ring, which has long been a permanent fixture on Meghan’s hand except at the end of her second pregnancy when it was altered, was missing.
The Duchess was attending her first public event with husband Prince Harry since her absence at her father-in-law King Charles III’s Coronation in London 11 days ago, which the Duke attended alone on May 6.
She borrowed the Queen’s mantra last night by hailing ‘daily acts of service’ as she urged women to ‘be the visionary of your own life’ while accepting a feminist award at a New York gala – in a boost to her US relaunch.
The Duchess told the crowd: ‘It’s just never too late to start. You can be the visionary of your own life. You can charter a path in which what you repeat in your daily acts of service, in kindness, in advocacy, in grace and in fairness, that those become the very things that are recognised by the next wave of women, both young and old, who will also choose this moment to join the movement and make our vision for an equitable world reality.’
The California-based couple were accompanied yesterday by Meghan’s mother Doria Ragland.
And the Duchess’s comments on service were notable given that her brother-in-law Prince William paid tribute to Charles’s ‘service’ during the Coronation Concert at Windsor Castle on May 7, one day after the ceremony.
William had said: ‘For all that celebrations are magnificent, at the heart of the pageantry is a simple message. Service.
‘My father’s first words on entering Westminster Abbey yesterday were a pledge of service. It was a pledge to continue to serve.’
And on May 8, at the end of the bank holiday weekend, Charles issued a message insisting that he and Queen Camilla would ‘rededicate our lives to serving the people of the United Kingdom, the realms and commonwealth’.
And Queen Elizabeth II famously said on her 21st birthday in 1947 in a speech broadcast on the radio from South Africa, when she was still Princess Elizabeth: ‘I declare before you all that my whole life whether it be long or short shall be devoted to your service and the service of our great imperial family to which we all belong.’
Meghan’s words also recalled when she and Harry made a statement in February 2021 after Buckingham Palace confirmed they would step down as working royals, saying: ‘We can all live a life of service. Service is universal.’
The Duchess’s relaunch – dubbed ‘Meghan 2.0’ – has already seen her speak about mental health with youngsters in Santa Barbara and dine with Hollywood stars including Cameron Diaz and Gwyneth Paltrow over the past week.
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