Why Kate Middleton “Secretly” Altered Her Engagement Ring

“Hearst Magazines and Yahoo may earn commission or revenue on some items through the links below.”

PSA: Kate Middleton wasn’t going to let a sizing issue keep her from having the ring of her dreams. New reports say the Duchess of Cambridge actually altered her engagement ring after Prince William proposed with it in Kenya.

The literal boulder ring, a 12-carat blue sapphire masterpiece ~casually~ surrounded by 14 solitaire diamonds, was given to Kate in 2010 and (fun fact!) has remained on my Pinterest mood board ever since. However, just before her and Prince William’s iconic wedding day on April 29, 2011, “Kate actually had the ring altered—as she found the band was too big and ‘turning on her finger,’” according to The Mirror.

The outlet added that the ring was ultimately taken to royal jeweler G. Collins and Sons, “who made the tweak so it would fit better.” “However, rather than resizing the band, small platinum beads are believed to have been attached inside the bottom of the ring, to give it a better fit,” the report continued. Around the same time, a source dished to The Sun that though Kate “adores” the ring and “didn’t want to cause a fuss,” it was ultimately too big and that was a problem.

“A bride’s worst nightmare is looking down and seeing her ring has fallen off,” the source told the newspaper, per Sky News. “One can only imagine how this is magnified when you are marrying the future King of England.” Okay, points were definitely made, @anonymous insider!

TBH even more interesting is that, according to the documentary The Diana Story, Kate almost didn’t get her late mother-in-law’s ring at all because *drumroll, please* it actually belonged to Prince Harry. Apparently, Diana’s former butler Paul Burrell spilled that the Duke of Sussex “selflessly” gave up the ring so that his eldest brother could give it to his then-fiancée Kate. “After Diana died following a car crash in Paris in 1997, Prince Charles allowed his sons to select pieces from her jewelry collection to keep,” The Mirror reports. “It’s believed the sapphire ring went to Harry, while William chose a gold Cartier watch…Shortly before William proposed to his now-wife Kate in 2010, Harry offered his brother the chance to give his bride-to-be their mother’s ring.” BRB, getting emotional thinking about how close these two used to be.