Royal expert slams Meghan Markle for ‘updating’ her engagement ring as band is a ‘piece of history’

Meghan Markle has been blasted by a royal editor for changing up her engagement ring, who argues that the band should remain untouched as it is a ‘piece of history’. 

Yesterday we told how the Duchess of Sussex has altered the custom-made engagement ring that Prince Harry designed for her to make it look more dainty.

The Duke of Sussex, 34, proposed to the former actress, 37, in November 2017 with a glittering ring comprising of a solid yellow gold band set with three diamonds.

But royal watchers at Town and Country noted that on recent outings, including an appearance at Trooping the Colour earlier this month, the new mother has worn a different, thinner band. 

Original: Prince Harry, 34, proposed to Meghan, 37, in November 2017 with a glittering ring comprising of a solid yellow gold band set with three diamonds, pictured

Ingrid Seward, editor-in-chief of Majesty Magazine, said she ‘found it odd’ that Meghan would want to alter a ring that her husband had especially designed for her.

She told Fabulous Digital: ‘A royal engagement ring is a piece of history, not a bit of jewellery to be updated when it looks old fashioned.’

Jewellery expert Arabel Lebrusan confirmed the ring appears to have been changed, and suggested it was more American in style compared to the original engagement ring.

Arabel, owner the ethical jewellery brand Arabel Lebrusan, called the thinner band a popular trend at the moment, revealing: ‘Many celebrities do this, as the central stone looks bigger in comparison, getting the wow factor.’ 

Ingrid Seward, editor-in-chief of Majesty Magazine, Ingrid Seward, said she ‘found it odd’ that Meghan would want to alter a ring that her husband had especially designed for her. Pictured in 2017

Now: On recent outings the Duchess has worn a different band. At Trooping the Colour Meghan’s diamonds were set on a thinner, micro-pavé band, as seen above

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.’

At Trooping the Colour and at her Windsor Castle photo call with Prince Harry and newborn son Archie, the Duchess has worn her three engagement diamonds set on a thin micro-pavé band.   

Subtle changes? The new band was spotted at Trooping the Colour earlier this month, pictured, where much attention was also paid to a third band worn on Meghan’s ring finger 

The original custom design featured one diamond originally from Botswana and two smaller stones from Princess Diana’s collection, set on a solid gold band

She has also been seen with a third diamond band, which many royal watchers speculated could have been an anniversary gift or a ‘push present’ given to the royal by her husband after Archie’s birth. 

Leora Moreno, owner of jewellery brand Leo With Love, suggested the changes could have been changed to match Meghan’s new eternity ring.

The ring is the latest in an extraordinary collection of jewellery that Meghan has amassed in the past year, which has now been valued at a staggering £600,000. 

Leora 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’. 

It is not known when the apparent alterations were made as the Duchess chose not to wear her engagement ring during her last few public engagements while pregnant.

It was widely speculated this may have been because this was due to her fingers swelling, which is very common in late stages of pregnancy. 

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 Trooping the Colour and at her Windsor Castle photo call with Prince Harry and newborn son Archie, the Duchess has worn her three engagement diamonds set on a thin micro-pavé band

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.’ 

The Duchess of Sussex also wears her wedding band, which is in yellow Welsh gold to match Prince Harry’s.