The Duchess of Sussex inherited it, presumably as a wedding gift from Prince Harry.
Princess Diana loved a good jewelry moment. During her royal tenure, she borrowed heirloom diamonds, sapphires, and emeralds from the Crown’s collection. After her divorce, the princess accessorized more often with baubles from her own jewelry box—including a ring almost as famous, and just as meaningful, as her iconic sapphire engagement piece.
Widely dubbed her “divorce ring,” the stunning aquamarine stone was another way for Diana to signal her status as a newly liberated woman. She first debuted it in October 1996, having finalized her divorce with ex-husband Prince Charles in August of that year. After her passing, the aquamarine ring went to her younger son, Prince Harry. It wasn’t seen again in public for a long time, until his now-wife Meghan Markle wore it to her wedding reception in 2018.
Ahead, learn more about Princess Diana’s famous divorce ring, including who gave it to her, its surprising worth, and the empowering meaning it held for the late royal.
Diana’s divorce ring was a gift from one of her closest friends.
As Diana endured a difficult public breakup and divorce, her friends and family rallied around her. One of her closest allies was Lucia Flecha de Lima, who was married to the former ambassador of Brazil to the U.K. Longtime royal reporter Richard Kay wrote in the Daily Mail that the aquamarine stone (later set into a ring by Asprey) came as a gift from de Lima “on the day (Diana’s) divorce from Prince Charles became final in 1996.”
Per Kay, the ring was intended to replace Diana’s engagement ring and featured a stone “from the same mine in…De Lima’s native Brazil which has provided aquamarines for the Queen.”
It’s an emerald-cut aquamarine flanked by accent diamonds.
The glistening blue sparkler features an emerald-cut aquamarine at its center, flanked by two small, round accent diamonds on either side. The stones appear to be set on a thin gold band, making for a striking contrast with the supersized central gem. When Diana first wore the piece during a 1996 fundraising dinner in Sydney, Australia, she paired it with a matching pearl and aquamarine bracelet for twice the glamour.
It symbolized her newfound empowerment.
Diana only wore the ring a handful of times before her death in August 1997. After its Sydney debut, she was photographed rocking the emerald-cut stunner at a party celebrating a charitable auction of her clothing, held by Christie’s. Once more, the princess paired her cocktail ring with other jewels—this time, a diamond tennis bracelet and diamond and pearl drop earrings.
Steven Schneider, CEO of Worthy, told Marie Claire in 2026 that the divorce ring “was fun, playful, and far larger than (Diana’s) engagement ring, symbolizing her independence from the royal family.”
While similar in color to her proposal piece (which now belongs to Kate Middleton), the divorce ring is more dramatic than its predecessor. In that sense, it aligns with the shift towards more daring and adventurous looks that defined Diana’s post-divorce style. She embraced sequined Versace numbers, wore a slip dress to the Met Gala, and fleshed out her private jewelry collection with bolder pieces than what one could find in the Crown’s vaults.
Her fashion evolution carried powerful symbolism, representing the freedom and empowerment Diana had found outside of palace life.
Prince Harry inherited the piece, and later gifted it to Meghan Markle.
It was something borrowed, something blue, and something old, all wrapped up in one. When the Duchess of Sussex wed Prince Harry in May 2018, she wore the aquamarine divorce ring to the afterparty in a touching tribute to her late mother-in-law. She flashed the ring to the crowd while riding in a silver-blue Jaguar to her wedding reception at Frogmore House.
A Kensington Palace spokesperson confirmed to People that Meghan’s ring was the same one Diana had worn in the ‘90s, presumably a gift from her new husband. She used the accessory to add bling to her minimalist second wedding look—a custom backless Stella McCartney gown. Matching the ring were the soles of her Aquazurra pumps, which were painted baby blue, the outlet reported.
It wasn’t the last time the As Ever founder would don the jewel. She brought it into the spotlight again a few months after her wedding, wearing it on a royal tour stop in Tonga, per People. She also wore it to the 2022 Ripple of Hope Gala, where she and Harry accepted an award for their humanitarian efforts.
