The secret meaning behind Meghan Markle's charm ring

(Image credit: Rex)

Yesterday, Meghan Markle visited the Royal Variety Charity's residential nursing and care home, of which the Queen is a patron, as part of a solo engagement.

She wore a lovely floral dress by Brock Collection, but it's not so much her clothes that people noticed, rather than her jewellery - and I'm not talking about her gorgeous engagement ring.

Not, it was a £250 rose gold ring on her other hand that caught everyone's attention, mainly because of its 'secret significance'.

The ring, by Turkish brand Kismet by Milka, features an evil eye, encased in the hand of Fatima, known as the Hamsa. The hand is an ancient Middle Eastern amulet that signifies the hand of God, and is widely seen as a protective sign, which brings happiness, luck, health, and good fortune to its owner.

Of course, people are speculating that it might be because of the rumoured right between her and Kate Middleton, or recent comments her dad made about her ignoring him.

Or you know, she might just think it's a pretty ring. Imagine that.

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.