There is a reason Princess Eugenie’s engagement ring looks like Kate’s

eugenie engagement ring
(Image credit: Getty)

While Prince Beatrice's engagement and wedding rings made headlines for breaking the rules, Princess Eugenie's sparkler was a little more traditional (and was reported to cost between £7 and £10k.

It featured a large Padparadscha Sapphire, a rare stone that has a pink tint to it, surrounded by diamonds. At the time, now-husband Jack Brooksbank said he chose the ring because, 'it changes colour when it hits certain lights, much like Eugenie' - very romantic.

While the ring was unique thanks to the stone, royal fans were quick to point out that it was very similar to Kate Middleton's engagement ring, which is of course the blue sapphire surrounded by diamonds that belonged to Princess Diana.

But actually, the resemblance is more to do with Eugenie's mother, Fergie's engagement ring, which Jack might have been inspired by.

kate engagement ring

(Image credit: Getty)

Fergie's ring was designed by royal jewellery Garrard & Co. It was an oval ruby, surrounded by a halo of 10 diamonds. It was remarkably similar to the sapphire ring Prince Charles gave Princess Diana, and for good reason, as the couple picked it together from the same jeweller's catalogue, causing controversy at the time as it wasn't an heirloom.

While Prince Andrew did design the style himself, jewellers tend to have a house style, and he was probably inspired by other designs he saw. Both engagements happened in the 80s too (Diana in 1981 and Fergie in 1986), so they both fit in with that decade's trends.

Jamie Samhan, the deputy editor at Royal Central, told Marie Claire US, 'Many people noticed the resemblance to the Duchess of Cambridge's engagement ring, that once belonged to Diana, Princess of Wales. The reason that they look very much the same is that Diana's ring was by Garrard & Co in 1981 and Sarah's ring was from the same designer a few short years later in 1986.

fergie engagement ring

(Image credit: Getty)

'Prince Andrew did personally design the ring that was given to Fergie, compared to Diana's that was from the collection, but most designers tend to stick to a signature style. So when Jack set out to create a ring for Eugenie just like her mother's, the groundwork that it would also resemble Diana/Kate's ring was already there.'

Eugenie and Jack went on to tie the knot in October 2018, and the bride chose a wedding ring made of Welsh gold, as is custom for royal brides.

Penny Goldstone

Penny Goldstone is the Digital Fashion Editor at Marie Claire, covering everything from catwalk trends to royal fashion and the latest high street and Instagram must-haves.

Penny grew up in France and studied languages and law at the Sorbonne Nouvelle University in Paris before moving to the UK for her MA in multimedia journalism at Bournemouth University. She moved to the UK permanently and has never looked back (though she does go back regularly to stock up on cheese and wine).

Although she's always loved fashion - she used to create scrapbooks of her favourite trends and looks, including Sienna Miller and Kate Moss' boho phase - her first job was at MoneySavingExpert.com, sourcing the best deals for everything from restaurants to designer sales.

However she quit after two years to follow her true passion, fashion journalism, and after many years of internships and freelance stints at magazines including Red, Cosmopolitan, Stylist and Good Housekeeping, landed her dream job as the Digital Fashion Editor at Marie Claire UK.

Her favourite part of the job is discovering new brands and meeting designers, and travelling the world to attend events and fashion shows. Seeing her first Chanel runway IRL at Paris Fashion Week was a true pinch-me moment.