The much anticipated (and widely speculated) event has finally occurred: Prince William has proposed to long-time girlfriend (and style provocateur) Kate Middleton. The cute couple has weathered the storm of rumors of an impending engagement over and over throughout the course of their relationship, but it appears that wedding bells are finally going to ring (and the rag mags aren’t just blowing smoke this time). The proof is on her finger in the form of a fabulous engagement ring that many people will recognize. After all, it was worn by William’s mother, Princess Diana.
The stunning engagement band is anything but traditional. The whopping 18-carat ring includes a large, oval sapphire as the central stone encircled by 14 white diamond accent stones, all set in a platinum band. At the time of its original purchase in 1981, it cost £30,000 (or about $65,000). With inflation, it would be worth more than double that amount today. Of course, you can’t put a price tag on sentimental value, which this ring holds in spades. In fact, William’s younger brother, Harry, was actually the recipient of the ring upon his mother’s untimely death in 1997. But the brothers agreed that whoever became engaged first would use the ring (although it seems that Kate Middleton has come out the winner). Prince William commented that by proposing with his mother’s ring, he hoped to keep her memory alive. And considering all the buzz surrounding the ring, he seems to have done just that.
The couple became engaged just a couple of weeks ago in Kenya while on holiday, but only after the Prince had gone the traditional route and asked her father’s permission. And plans for the wedding are moving right along. The formal ceremony is set to take place at Westminster Abbey on April 29th of next year, which doesn’t leave much time for planning (but who needs it when you have unlimited funds and an army of service people to work out the details?). In the meantime, Kate plans to hold a pre-wedding party for friends and family just weeks before the wedding, at her home in Bucklebury. Her rationale is that she wants to have a “normal” sort of reception without the restraint of formality that will likely dominate her wedding day. In any case, she has nabbed the dream husband that millions of girls would kill for (likely along with the title “Princess of Wales”), so what’s a little pomp and circumstance on the side?
