The Duchess of Sussex has attracted considerable attention after displaying a previously unseen dark blue ring during promotional content for her lifestyle venture, As Ever.
Meghan Markle, 44, wore the striking piece in an Instagram video posted on June 23, where she appeared carrying a basket brimming with fresh produce through her Montecito garden.
The jewel was first glimpsed in footage shared on May 11, just eight days before her eighth wedding anniversary with Prince Harry on May 19.
This timing prompted widespread speculation among royal observers that the ring might represent an early anniversary present from her husband.
Meghan Markle has debuted a mystery blue ring (stock picture)
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The fashion website What Meghan Wore confirmed the piece “has not yet been identified,” leaving its origins and precise stone type a matter of conjecture.
Sharp-eyed followers swiftly noted the ring’s visual similarity to the Princess of Wales’s famous 12-carat oval sapphire, which originally belonged to Princess Diana before Prince William used it to propose to Catherine in 2010.
One social media user remarked: “Meghan Markle’s latest As Ever video shows her wearing a new ring that resembles Princess Diana and Princess Catherine’s engagement ring!”
However, not all observers were convinced the pieces were truly alike.
Meghan Markle’s ring could be seen in an As ever video on Instagram
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INSTAGRAM/@ASEVEROFFICIAL
Several commentators attributed the apparent resemblance to lighting conditions and the somewhat blurry video quality, which made the stone appear more sapphire-like than it might be in reality.
Notable distinctions were also highlighted, including gold prongs visible around the edges and the fact that Meghan wore it on her middle finger rather than her ring finger.
The sighting has also revived longstanding narratives surrounding Diana’s jewellery collection and its division between her sons following her death in 1997.
For years, royal watchers believed Harry initially chose his mother’s Garrard sapphire engagement ring while William selected her Cartier Tank Française watch, with the brothers later exchanging items so William could propose to Catherine.
Princess Diana wearing her engagement ring on her first engagement after divorcing then-Prince Charles
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Prince Harry firmly rejected this account in his 2023 memoir, Spare, branding the reports “absolutely rubbish.”
The Duke of Sussex maintained that William already possessed the sapphire ring when he became engaged to Catherine and that he was never asked to relinquish it.
Harry stated he subsequently gave the Cartier timepiece to Meghan instead.
Diana’s original engagement ring, designed by Garrard, cost £28,500 in 1981 and drew inspiration from a sapphire-and-diamond cluster brooch Prince Albert presented to Queen Victoria in 1840.
Catherine, The Princess of Wales wearing her engagement ring just last week at Ascot
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The anniversary timing carries additional weight as the Sussexes prepare for a significant return to Britain next month.
Prince Harry is expected to bring Meghan and their children, Prince Archie, seven, and Princess Lilibet, five, to Birmingham for the one-year countdown celebrations ahead of the 2027 Invictus Games.
The visit would mark the first time the entire family has travelled to the UK together in four years.
Archie and Lilibet have not seen their grandfather, King Charles III, in person since the Platinum Jubilee in June 2022.
Meghan herself has not made an extended visit since Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral in September 2022, typically limiting her time in Britain to brief stopovers during international travel.