Queen Margrethe’s abdication marked a poignant moment in history, with crowds lining the streets to bid farewell to the world’s only remaining female sovereign.
Her successor, Crown Prince Frederik, ascended to the throne with a solemn promise to continue the legacy of grace and dedication set by his mother. At the now King Frederik X of Denmark’s side is his wife, the Australian-born Queen Mary.
When it comes to unique engagement rings, Queen Mary wins all of the prizes with hers – and she’s even made additions to it since the royal couples wedding.
Engagement ring experts at Steven Stone have revealed everything there is to know about the royal sparkler, which ranks as one of the 25 most expensive royal engagement rings.
How did King Frederik and Queen Mary meet?
The then Prince Frederik met Mary at a packed city pub in Sydney during the Olympics in 2000. Proving that fairy tales can come true, the couple successfully maintained a long-distance relationship for a year before the Frederik proposed whilst the couple holidayed in Rome.
Before their wedding at Copenhagen Cathedral in 2004, Mary became a Danish royal – having learned the language, given up her Australian citizenship and converted to the Lutheran faith. Twenty years on, the couple share four children and rule Denmark.
Queen Mary’s Engagement Ring
Designed to match the national flag of Denmark – red with a white Scandinavian cross, with the vertical part shifted to the hoist side – Mary’s ring symbolises that she’s not just married to the King of Denmark, but his country too.
After her Wedding to the then Prince Frederik in 2004, Mary began stacking her engagement ring with her diamond-set wedding band and has since made additions to it. Originally featuring a large emerald-cut diamond flanked by two emerald cut rubies, two stunning diamond baguettes were added that undoubtedly increased the value.
The significance of Ruby Jewellery
Rubies are a very desirable gemstone due to their hardness and durability.
Often associated with wealth and prosperity, many ancient crowns were decorated with rubies because they represented good fortune and courage.
Tied to love, passion and raw emotion, the ruby’s deep red colour perfectly encapsulates the love shared between the King and Queen.
The gemstones hardness and durability also has a part to play, signifying the strength and longevity of their relationship.
“With a 1.50 carat emerald-cut diamond centre stone, sat between two 70 point emerald cut rubies, Queen Mary’s stunning engagement ring originally had an estimated value of £30,000 ($40,000).
Since her wedding to the then Prince Frederik, Mary has added two 50 point diamond baguettes, which have undoubtedly increased the value and I’d estimate this to be £40,000 ($50,000).
When we see a ring with multiple stones like this, they typically represent something and it’s likely that her royal highnesses alteration was a sentimental one, with the four stones reportedly representing the couple’s four children.
Meghan Markle did something similar with her eternity ring, updating it with the birthstones of Prince Harry and Archie. It’s a truly beautiful way to make a piece of jewellery more symbolic and meaningful.”
maxwell stone, leading diamond expert, steven stone
If you’re searching for a unique engagement ring of your own, chat to one of our team for bespoke engagement rings. We also offer diamond earrings, eternity rings, and wedding rings for women and men.
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