Fans Think Meghan Markle Altered Her Engagement Ring, Again

The internet simply cannot get enough of royal rings. From the symbolic reason Princess Kate has stopped wearing her iconic sapphire engagement piece to the real reason Prince William doesn't wear a wedding band (and never has), online sleuths have taken a keen interest in regal jewelry. Most recently, there has been some chatter about Meghan Markle making alterations to her engagement ring—for the fourth time.

Prince Harry designed his wife's engagement ring himself, back in 2017 when he proposed. His design featured a cushion-cut diamond, estimated to be between 2.5 and 3 carats, which he sourced from Botswana. The African country holds a special place in both the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's hearts, as it is where they took their first vacation together and where Harry decided he wanted to spend the rest of his life with Meghan.

Surrounding the main stone are two smaller, round diamonds from Princess Diana's personal jewelry collection. This was another special and sentimental touch, as Meghan had expressed it was important that Harry's late mother, whom she never had the pleasure of meeting, was "a part of this with us."

Harry put it in his own words while appearing on BBC: “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 on either side are from my mother’s jewelry collection, to make sure that she’s with us on this crazy journey together.”

“It’s incredibly special to be able to have this [ring], which sort of links where you come from and Botswana, which is important to us. It’s perfect,” Meghan said during the same interview.

The couple made the first alteration to the piece in 2019. The design was refreshed by replacing its original plain gold band (crafted by Queen Elizabeth II's regular jeweler, Cleave & Company) with a thin micro-pavé band.

In the 2022 book Finding Freedom, written by royal experts Carolyn Durand and Omid Scobie, Scobie claims that it was Harry's idea to replace the band.

In the biography, jewelry designer Lorraine Schwartz says, “He’s the loveliest person ever. So romantic, so thoughtful." Scobie adds, “So much so that Harry also thought to have Lorraine resize and reset Meghan’s engagement ring with a new diamond band.”

Eagle-eyed onlookers speculated about a second alteration in 2022 after Meghan attended the Invictus Games in The Hague, alleging she added more diamonds around the central stone. Rumors of a believed third alteration came at the end of last year when the public noticed the duchess stepping out without her ring. Many believed she had it taken in for servicing after the setting became loose.

Now, tongues are wagging once again following the release of promotional videos and photos for Meghan's new Netflix series. Royal watchers suggest the central diamond now appears to have more of a square shape instead of the original round-cut stone.

While the royal hasn't confirmed this to be true, one thing is clear: it is one of her favorite pieces, as she is seen donning the sparkler in pretty much every flick and snap from With Love, Meghan.

Read the original article on InStyle