The ‘Thoughtful’ Reason Kate Middleton Doesn’t Always Wear Her $500k Sapphire Engagement Ring

The iconic sparkler once belonged to Princess Diana.

Princess Kate during a visit to Wales in February 2026.Credit: 

Chris Jackson/Getty Images

Kate Middleton began wearing her engagement ring intermittently in early 2024.
Experts believe it may be a way to redirect focus to her work and keep her appearance low-key at more casual engagements.
When she skips wearing the sparkler, the Princess of Wales incorporates sapphire and diamond eternity bands into her iconic ring stack in its place.

Kate Middleton’s most famous accessory is her sapphire and diamond engagement ring—the same one previously owned by her mother-in-law, Princess Diana. While it used to be a staple of her royal style, it’s since become a rarer piece to see on her ring finger.

The Princess of Wales began wearing her engagement ring intermittently in early 2024, shortly after announcing her cancer diagnosis. Now, she appears to save it for major events like Trooping the Colour and the Commonwealth Day service at Westminster Abbey. For more intimate royal engagements—like visiting the Charing Cross Hospital in West London and hosting England’s women’s rugby team at Windsor Castle, both in January 2026—Kate has been opting to leave the iconic piece at home.

When it was purchased 44 years ago, the 12-carat sapphire ring would have cost around £28,500 ($37,806), and the piece is often valued at around £390,000 today ($517,000).

“It wouldn’t surprise me if she sometimes chooses not to wear her most important jewels in those kinds of settings, reserving her grander engagement ring for more public occasions,” writer and historian Lauren Kiehna, founder of The Court Jeweller blog, told People in 2024.

Why doesn’t Kate Middleton always wear her engagement ring? Here are the likeliest reasons, according to experts.

Kate Middleton wearing her sapphire and diamond engagement ring at the Commonwealth Day service on March 10, 2025.Getty

It could be a way to redirect focus from herself to her work.

Kate’s decision to not wear her $517,000 engagement ring represents a shift in her priorities post-2024, as the year brought its share of tumult. (In addition to Kate’s own cancer diagnosis, her father-in-law, King Charles, was diagnosed with cancer at almost the same time; while Kate is now in remission, his treatment continues.)

In 2025, Kate released a video promoting the Scouts where she spoke about finding “peace and reconnection” in the great outdoors. Following her pattern, the more casual appearance saw the future queen without her engagement ring. Ella Citron-Thompkins, a jewelry expert from Diamonds Factory, shed some light as to why to Hello!, telling the outlet that the choice to not wear the ring in the video was “likely a thoughtful and symbolic” one.

Kate Middleton without her sapphire and diamond engagement ring in Southport, England on October 10, 2024.Getty

“The video focuses on the importance of nature, mental well-being, and emotional grounding,” Citron-Thompkins told the outlet. “Her ring is a highly recognizable piece, so she may strategically want audiences to connect with the messaging rather than herself.”

This approach harkens back to Kate’s reported preference for the focus to be on her work, not her wardrobe—as has so often been the case with her royal engagements in her nearly 15 years of being a working royal.

Kate may prefer to be more ‘low-key’ in casual appearances.

Kate Middleton wearing her eternity ring stack on January 14, 2025 while visiting the Royal Marsden Hospital.Getty

The nature of the appearances where Kate goes without her ring offers another clue as to what drives the accessorizing decision.

In 2024, Kate wore the ring to Trooping the Colour in June and Wimbledon in July, but then opted for the eternity ring stack for most of the rest of the year. She brought out her sapphire and diamond engagement ring towards the end of the year for Remembrance events in November and her “Together at Christmas” carol concert in December.

Kate Middleton wearing her sapphire and diamond engagement ring at Holocaust Memorial Day on January 27, 2025.Getty

The following year, Kate largely stuck to the same formula: wearing the sapphire and diamond engagement ring for more formal royal occasions, and an eternity ring stack for the more intimate engagements where she was up-close-and-personal with people. More recently, she ditched the engagement ring for her first appearance and first solo outing of 2026, neither of which were formal events.

What sparked the switch from wearing her ring almost always to on and off? Per Citron-Thompkins, it may have been a result of Kate’s cancer journey. “Health challenges often bring a deeper appreciation for comfort and symbolism, especially in the pieces we choose to wear, so it’s understandable and admirable as to why she may opt for a more ‘low-key’ approach to casual appearances,” she told Hello!.

She sometimes replaces the iconic ring with subtle eternity bands.

Kate Middleton’s eternity ring stack.Getty

Kate’s eternity ring stack includes her Welsh gold wedding band—a traditional piece among married royal women—as well as a diamond eternity band no doubt given to her by Prince William.

“The eternity ring features a fine band of pavé-set diamonds in white gold or platinum—understated and symbolic,” Citron-Thompkins told Hello!. “In contrast to her bold sapphire engagement ring, which is rich in royal history, her eternity stack is subtle and modern, reflective of her new shift in priorities.”

The princess added a sapphire eternity band to the stack in 2024, which is believed to be a present from William to commemorate the end of Kate’s chemotherapy treatments. It’s a timeless piece and strikingly similar to Carolyn Bessette Kennedy’s minimalist engagement ring from John F. Kennedy Jr.

She’s not the only royal who ditches her engagement ring.

While Middleton is an outlier among British royals when it comes to not wearing her proposal piece, royals from other countries have done the same. As Kiehna told People in 2024, “royal women wear their engagement rings in different ways, just like the rest of us.”

Kate Middleton wearing her sapphire and diamond engagement ring at Trooping the Colour on June 15, 2024.Getty

“Some, like Queen Elizabeth, wear their engagement rings daily for their entire lives. Others, like Queen Mathilde [of Belgium] and Queen Mary [of Denmark], switch out their engagement rings for other rings on a regular basis. And some, like Queen Letizia [of Spain], haven’t been spotted wearing their engagement rings for years,” she explained.