Princess Kate just replaced her engagement ring with a rare piece

She's rarely seen wearing it

Kate Middleton new ring
(Image credit: Getty Images)

Princess Catherine and Prince William made a rare joint appearance this weekend to mark the end of the Olympics with a special video.

The video was posted on their official Instagram page during the 2024 Olympics closing ceremony, and the couple were congratulated the British athletes, alongside other celebrities such as Snoop Dogg and David Beckham.

"Well done Team GB, what an incredible journey!" the Prince and Princess of Wales captioned the video. "Every athlete showed immense dedication, heart and passion. You made us all so proud!

Naturally, given this was one of only a handful of recent appearances from the Princess of Wales amidst her health battle, Royal fans were quick to dissect her look, and unsurprisingly landed on her rings.

Specifically, they noticed that instead of her engagement ring - which belonged to her late mother-in-law Princess Diana - she wore a different band, which appeared to feature pearls or diamonds and red stones.

After a little bit of digging, it appears that this is one of her oldest rings, one she is rarely seen wearing.

In fact, it's said to be one of the first jewellery gifts from Prince William, towards the beginning of their relationship.

Long before they got engaged, when they were both dating as students at the University of St. Andrews, he is said to have given her a promise ring: a rose gold band featuring alternate pearl and garnets.

It was not only a promise that they were in it for the long run, but the stones symbolised both of their birthdays (pearl for William's June birthday, and garnet for Kate's January birthday).

Since the couple recently celebrated their 13th wedding anniversary, the rings takes on a whole new meaning.

If you wanted to emulate the royal, here are some similar rings you can buy.

Penny Goldstone

Penny Goldstone is the Contributing Fashion Editor at Marie Claire UK. She writes about catwalk trends and the latest high street and Instagram sartorial must-haves. She also helms the Women Who Win franchise.

She has worked in fashion for over 10 years, contributing to publications such as Cosmopolitan, Red, Good Housekeeping, and Stylist.