Princess Catherine made a rare statement about her late mother-in-law Princess Diana this week.
The Princess of Wales, AKA Kate Middleton doesn’t often make comments about her husband, Prince William‘s, mother — but while visiting some royal fans in Merthyr Tydfil on Thursday, she offered some rare insight on her feelings towards “the people’s princess.”
Related: Watch Catherine’s ‘Princess Shuffle’ Going Viral On TikTok!
In a video taken by Instagram user judith.cymraes posted to all.thats.pretty, the 41-year-old was asked about her engagement ring. She confirmed to the fan that it is, in fact, Diana’s ring:
“Same ring.”
But what makes the ring more special is that it didn’t even have to be resized! She revealed she and her late mother-in-law just happened to have the exact same ring size:
“And exactly the same, the same size. It is very special. What an honor to be able to wear it.”
That is so special!
While continuing the conversation, Kate went on to say Diana would’ve been a “brilliant grandmother” and that the family misses “her every day.” But then came the heartbreaking reminder, of course:
“But sadly I never got to meet her.”
Yes, Princess Di passed away in 1997, when Kate and Will would only have been 15. This was years before they would meet at university in 2001, so of course she never met his mum.
Aww! So bittersweet, but what an incredible privilege to be able to wear it every day and honor the late princess! Ch-ch-check out the video (below):
https://www.instagram.com/p/Crk5Ox9ocoq/
If you’ll recall, William gave Kate the engagement ring way back in 2010 when he popped the question while they were on vacation in Kenya. The incredible ring features a 12-carat oval Ceylon surrounded by 14 solitaire diamonds, as well as an 18-carat sapphire. The Garrard-designed ring was valued at around £30,000 when it was made in 1981 — which in 2023 would be over £100k — and was chosen by Diana herself after she got engaged to Prince Charles.
William said back when he proposed to Kate he wanted his mother to be a part of the ceremony, and giving her Diana’s engagement ring was just the way to do it! It wasn’t the only way the former Princess of Wales was honored at their royal wedding, though. In 2011 the Prince of Wales made sure his mother wouldn’t “miss out” by having Elton John play the same song to their crowd of 2,000 that he played at Diana’s funeral — Candle in the Wind. At the time, he told several outlets:
“It’s very special to me. It’s my way of making sure my mother didn’t miss out on today and the excitement and the fact we are going to spend the rest of our lives together.”
The couple even took time to visit Diana’s grave before the wedding, a source told The Daily Mirror ahead of the ceremony:
“It was very important for William to take Kate to visit his mum just before their wedding day. It is tragic that she won’t be there to see the wedding and that she never got to meet his bride.”
It’s amazing the ways they’re still honoring the memory of Lady Di after all these years. Reactions, Perezcious readers?
[Image via MEGA/Anwar Hussein/WENN]