It is a diamond that made history and it has belonged to at least two queens. The stunning ring presented to Queen Camilla by King Charles when they got engaged has a special story all of its own and a link to the last British woman to be called an empress.
When it was announced that Charles and Camilla would marry, at the start of 2005, the couple wasted no time in showing off the sparkler that had sealed this matrimonial deal, decades in the making. The bride to be wore a striking and, to be frank, enormous diamond ring as she met the press as a royal in waiting for the first time.
The ring is understood to have belonged to Queen Elizabeth, The Queen Mother originally so it had huge sentimental meaning for Charles who adored his grandmother. However, how The Queen Mum came to own the ring was never publicly announced but if the story attached to it is correct, there's even more emotion involved. For it's believed that this ring was given to Charles' grandma by her husband, the future King George VI, when they welcomed their first baby, the future Elizabeth II.
What is certain is that it's a corker. The central stone is a whopping five carats and if it is a 1926 specimen, that would explain the very Art Deco emerald cut of the gem in the middle. The main diamond is flanked by smaller, baguette cut diamonds on either side and it's all set in platinum.
However, the fact it can be seen from space is the least important aspect of it in royal terms. For this gem is now the ring of two queens. Camilla became consort on September 8th 2022, on the accession of her husband as King Charles III, and The Queen has worn this special piece of jewellery to some of the most important events of his reign, including their Coronation. This year marks the twentieth anniversary of a marriage that was controversial at the time but which is now the wedding of a king and queen.
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