In the West, the practice of exchanging rings to mark a betrothal dates back to ancient Rome, when noble families would trade iron bands—known as annuli pronubi—to signify that a marriage agreement had been reached, according to Pliny the Elder. Said rings were worn on the fourth digit of the left hand because of the ancient belief that this particular finger contained the vena amoris, a vein that ran directly to the heart.
It’s only in the medieval period that diamonds became popular engagement tokens thanks to their durability and resulting association with constancy. The 1476 wedding of Mary, Duchess of Burgundy to Roman Emperor Maximilian of Austria, in particular, is credited with making diamonds the stone of choice for aristocratic weddings after the groom presented Mary with a ring set with a glittering “M.”
It’s interesting, then, how few British royals have marked their engagements with the traditional gem, with sapphires, emeralds, and rubies just as common among Windsor brides in recent years. Here, a look back at more than 150 years of royal betrothals, and the stones used to mark them.
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Queen Victoria
Married: 1840
In the 1800s, coiled snakes were widely recognised as symbols of eternal love, with Prince Albert presenting Queen Victoria with an ouroboros design to commemorate their engagement in 1839. The Prince had its head set with an emerald—his future wife’s birthstone—while its eyes were marked with rubies, then associated with passion. As with most choices made by Victoria and Albert, it started a trend, with many snake rings from the period featuring turquoise stones. Their hue, said to resemble the color of forget-me-nots, reinforced the sentiment of enduring romance.
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