Meghan Markle is known for her love of expensive, highly personalized jewelry – but in recent weeks a notable piece has disappeared from her collection.
The Duchess of Sussex, 41, accepted a feminist award at a gala in New York last night, donning an $1,850 gold Johanna Ortiz strapless dress with scalloped detailing for the occasion.
However, as the mother-of-two posed on the red carpet, it quickly became apparent that she was not wearing her £140,000 diamond engagement ring.
It was the second time this month that Meghan had been seen without the ring, after being photographed walking in Los Angeles without the bespoke piece of jewelry.
Although the reason why the ring is missing has not been revealed, the Duchess previously upgraded the engagement ring by adding a band of diamonds to the piece.
The Duchess of Sussex, 41, didn’t wear her £140,000 engagement ring last night – the second time she’s been seen without the piece of jewelry in recent weeks
Instead of wearing the bespoke band given to her by Prince Harry in 2017, she simply wore her wedding band and an eternity ring.
Prince Harry proposed to Meghan in November 2017 a sparkling ring consisting of a solid yellow gold band set with three diamonds.
At the time of their engagement, Prince Harry spoke about the creation of Meghan’s engagement ring with the help of jewelers Cleave and Company.
The custom design featured a diamond from Botswana and two smaller stones from Princess Diana’s collection.
At the time, he said, “The ring is obviously yellow gold because it’s [Meghan’s] favorite and the main stone itself which I bought in Botswana and the little diamonds on each side are from my mother’s jewelry collection, to make sure she is with us on this crazy journey together.
Meghan called it “incredible”, explaining: “All about Harry’s thoughtfulness and the inclusion of [Princess Diana’s stones] and obviously not being able to meet her mother, it’s so important for me to know that she’s a part of that with us.
“It’s incredibly special to be able to have this [ring], what kind of ties where you come from are forming 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 in 2019 while pregnant with son Archie.
When she appeared at Trooping the Color that year, it emerged the Duchess had altered the bespoke engagement ring Prince Harry had designed for her.
Prince Harry proposed to Meghan in November 2017 a sparkling ring consisting of a solid yellow gold band set with three diamonds (left). This was later amended to include a micro-paved strip in 2019 (right)
During Trooping the Color and during her photoshoot at Windsor Castle with Prince Harry and her newborn son Archie, the Duchess wore her three engagement diamonds set in a thin micropavé band.
Jewelery expert Arabel Lebrusan confirmed the ring had changed and suggested it had been altered to make the original diamonds appear larger.
Arabel, owner of ethical jewelry brand Arabel Lebrusan, called the thinner band a popular trend, revealing, “A lot of celebrities do it because the center stone looks bigger in comparison, getting the wow factor.”
The jewelry expert highlighted the difference in the band, saying, “She now has small diamonds on the sides of her engagement ring and the band also looks thinner than before.”
She also revealed that the glittering band only showcased Meghan’s diamonds and added: “The diamond setting on the band looks like a micro setting, this means there is very little metal between the bands. stones, which maximizes the brilliance of the tiny diamonds.”
Arabel went on to say that she thought the new style suited the Duchess’ style “perfectly”, saying: “It suits her style perfectly and it also suits her delicate fingers.”
Leora Moreno, owner of jewelry brand Leo With Love, said at the time that the changes could have been altered 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 introduced a new finer band, more in line with her love of delicate jewelry, in 2019
She explained, “It looks like the eternity ring has a pavé channel setting. The engagement ring appears to have an even smaller pavé setting, but matches the eternity ring perfectly.
The jeweler went on to explain that the change may have been complex, saying it took “refined skill and craftsmanship to change the band into something more delicate like a pavé setting”.
She added that the modern style would suit Meghan for “years to come” and was “the perfect combination of eye-catching and delicate”.
In 2022’s Finding Freedom, Omid Scobie claimed it was the Duke who altered Meghan’s ring.
In the biography, star jeweler Lorraine Schwartz said, “‘She’s the sweetest person ever. So romantic, so caring.’”
The authors continued: “(So much so that Harry also considered having Meghan’s engagement ring resized and reset with a new diamond band.)”
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle at the Ms Foundation Women of Vision Awards at the 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 her mother-in-law Doria Ragland and is seen behind the two women
However, in recent weeks, eagle-eyed royal fans have noticed that Meghan’s engagement ring is missing again.
Last week, the Duchess was spotted hiking without husband Prince Harry near their $14million Montecito mansion – hours after missing King Charles’ coronation.
Meghan was joined on the outdoor 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 sparkling diamond ring for the occasion.
And last night, the jewelry was missing for the second time when she arrived at the Ms. Foundation’s 50th anniversary event for women at the Ziegfeld Ballroom in Manhattan.
At last night’s event, Meghan simply wore her wedding band, which is yellow gold to match Prince Harry’s, and an eternity ring, which she started wearing after the birth of her son Archie. .
It is unclear 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 her husband, Prince Harry, since his absence at the coronation of his father-in-law, King Charles III, in London 11 days ago, which the Duke attended alone on May 6.
She borrowed the Queen’s mantra last night as she hailed ‘daily acts of service’ as she urged women to ‘be the visionary of their own lives’ while accepting a feminist award at a gala in New York – to give a boost to its revival in the United States.
The Duchess told the crowd: ‘It’s never too late to start. You can be the visionary of your own life. You can chart a path in which what you repeat in your daily acts of service, kindness, advocacy, grace and fairness, may these become the very things that are recognized by the next wave of women, young and elderly, who will also choose this moment to join the movement and make our vision of a fair world a reality.
The California-based couple were joined yesterday by Meghan’s mother, Doria Ragland.
And the Duchess’ comments on the service were notable given her brother-in-law Prince William paid tribute to Charles’ ‘service’ at the Coronation Concert at Windsor Castle on May 7, a day after the ceremony .
William had said: “As much as the 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 token of service. It was a pledge to continue to serve.
And on May 8, at the end of the bank holiday weekend, Charles posted a message insisting that he and Queen Camilla would ‘again dedicate our lives to the service of the people of the United Kingdom, the realms and the Commonwealth’ .
And Queen Elizabeth II said on her 21st birthday in 1947 in a radio broadcast from South Africa, when she was still Princess Elizabeth: “I declare before you all that all my life, whether long or short, will be devoted to your service and the service of our great imperial family to which we all belong.
Meghan’s words were also remembered when she and Harry issued a statement in February 2021 after Buckingham Palace confirmed they would be stepping down as senior royals, saying: ‘We can all live a life of service. The service is universal.
The relaunch of the Duchess – dubbed ‘Meghan 2.0’ – has already seen her speak about mental health with young people in Santa Barbara and dine with Hollywood stars such as Cameron Diaz and Gwyneth Paltrow over the past week.