From Prince Philip to Prince Harry, which male royals choose to wear wedding bands?

Prince Harry broke with tradition by opting for a platinum band, rather than Welsh gold
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Megan C. Hills21 May 2020

When you think of royal rings, you might picture the Duchess of Cambridge's gigantic ceylon sapphire engagement ring or the beautiful diamond from Botswana gifted by Harry to Meghan.

But men in the Royal Family have their own jewellery traditions.

There’s a long-standing tradition for the wedding bands of Royal Family members to be made from Welsh gold by jewellers Clogau, from the Clogau St. David’s gold mine in Dolgellau.

The gold is a rarity now as the mine has since been shut down, however the Queen was gifted a kilogram of it from the Gwynfynydd mine in 1986 for her 60th birthday.

Meghan Markle putting Prince Harry's platinum wedding ring on at their wedding
Getty Images

Prince Philip, Prince William and Princess Anne’s husband Timothy Laurence do not wear wedding rings, though Prince Philip does wear his family signet ring.

Speaking to the Daily Mail, a spokesperson revealed that it’s a choice “down to personal preference.”

When speaking with royal expert Rebecca English for the Daily Mail, a palace aide explained ahead of Prince William’s 2011 wedding, “It was something the couple discussed but Prince William isn't one for jewellery - he doesn't even wear a signet ring - and decided he didn't want to.”

Another source said that it was “quite common for men in that strata of society not to wear a traditional wedding band.”

Prince William's ringless hand
Getty Images

There’s another reason why you might not immediately spot the wedding rings on the hands of Prince Charles and the Earl of Wessex. Rather than wearing their bands on the fourth finger of their left hand, they instead choose to wear it alongside their signet rings on their left little finger.

According to Gentleman's Gazette, the tradition of wearing a wedding ring alongside a signet ring is one that dates back to Victorian times.

Other royals to have worn their wedding rings in a similar fashion include Princess Margaret’s husband Lord Snowdon and Prince Charles’ brother Andrew (who was seen wearing his wedding band in 2002 - years after his divorce from Sarah Ferguson).

Prince Charles wearing his signet and wedding ring stacked together
Getty Images

Prince Charles also wears a Welsh gold wedding band, with Clogau revealing that they created matching gold wedding bands for him and Princess Diana in 1981.

He wore his alongside his signet ring throughout their marriage. Following their divorce and his eventual marriage to Camilla Parker-Bowles in 2005, he has continued to wear a wedding band.

Prince Harry and Mike Tindall, the husband of Princess Anne’s daughter Zara Tindall, are the only other men in the Royal Family to wear wedding bands on the third finger of their left hand. Peter Phillips, who recently announced that he and his wife Autumn would be divorcing, also wore a ring in this way.

Mike and Zara Tindall
Getty Images

However, both Prince Harry and Tindall did put their own twist on royal tradition by choosing not to wear Welsh gold rings.

It was announced ahead of Prince Harry’s wedding that he would be wearing a “Platinum Band with a textured finish”, which was crafted by royal jewellers Cleave and Company. (Cleave and Company also created Meghan Markle’s Welsh gold wedding band, which was “gifted by Her Majesty The Queen.”)

Prince Harry wearing his ring with Meghan Markle
Getty Images

It isn’t known what material Tindall’s ring is made of, however it is also silver in colour.

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