London: There was something old and something new in the ring Meghan Markle, the US actress, wore when she and Prince Harry announced their engagement Monday.
The ring, which the prince himself designed, bore three glittering diamonds: a central stone from Botswana and two others from the collection of the prince’s mother, Princess Diana, who died in 1997, the couple said in a joint interview shared on social media Monday.
“It’s incredibly special to be able to have this, which sort of links where you come from and Botswana, which is important to us, and it’s perfect,” Markle said to Harry during the interview. The ring is yellow gold, Markle’s favourite, Harry said.
The couple dated for about a year and a half before becoming engaged this month. Just weeks into their relationship, Harry invited Markle on a five-day trip to Botswana.
“Then we were really by ourselves, which was crucial to me,” he said during the interview.
The prince, 33, and Markle, 36, appeared for photographers at Kensington Palace’s Sunken Garden on Monday shortly after announcing the engagement.
The ring was made by Cleave and Co., official jewellers to Queen Elizabeth II. The company’s director said in a statement that it was “greatly honoured to have been of service.”
The couple, who were introduced by a mutual friend, said in the interview that they knew little about each other before meeting. As an American, Markle said she wasn’t very familiar with British royalty, and Harry had never watched “Suits,” the legal drama on which Markle portrays the character Rachel Zane.
Harry and Markle, whose father is white and whose mother is black, had been subjected to intense and sometimes racially charged scrutiny by the British news media.
“We were totally unprepared,” Harry said of the scrutiny they faced as a couple, noting that they had tried to steel themselves for what would come.
In an unusual statement last year, the prince accused the news media of crossing a line and said he was worried about Markle’s safety. His mother, Diana, was killed in Paris two decades ago in a car crash while being pursued by paparazzi.
Harry proposed at home one night this month as the couple prepared dinner together, they said in the interview.
“She didn’t let me finish. She said: ‘Can I say yes? Can I say yes?’” Harry said. “Then there was hugs and I had the ring in my finger and I said, ‘Can I give you the ring?’ And she said, ‘Oh, yes, the ring!’”
The wedding is planned for the spring.
