rince William proposed to Princess Kate with his late mother Princess Diana’s iconic sapphire and diamond engagement ring, which was largely thought to have been inherited by Prince Harry.
Now, the Duke of Sussex has set the record straight regarding the heartfelt story that he handed the jewel to his older brother ahead of his proposal in Kenya in 2010.
In his memoir Spare, which was released in Spain on Thursday, the royal admitted the entire story was “nonsense” – he had not inherited his mother’s ring, and therefore, there was no tender moment when Harry handed it over to William in a selfless gesture that acknowledged his true love with Kate.
William had asked for the sapphire after their mother died in a car crash in France in 1997, which Harry did not object to.
Princess Diana’s ring was inherited by Prince William, not Prince Harry
Harry explained that the first time he was aware that William and Kate were engaged was when he had returned to the UK and Buckingham Palace made the announcement in November 2010. He revealed that the brothers had spent time together during a trip to Lesotho in June, shortly before the royal proposed, but William had not mentioned his plans to get down on one knee.
He added that he wished his brother the best for his upcoming wedding but he wanted to be a young husband himself and assumed that he would be the first to marry.
William and Kate began dating at St Andrews University but they had an eight-year on-off relationship before the royal proposed.
William proposed to Kate with the sapphire ring in 2010
After announcing their engagement, the couple sat down for an interview with journalist Tom Bradby where King Charles III’s son explained: “We’ve talked about this happening for a while so Kate wasn’t in the dark over it all. We’ve been planning it for a year if not longer, it was just finding the right time. As most couples say, it’s all about timing.
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“I had my military career and I really wanted to concentrate on my flying, and I couldn’t have done this if I was still doing my training. So I’ve got that out of the way, and Kate’s in a good place in terms of work and where she wants to be, and we just both decided that now would be a really good time.”
