The attention of royal fans has always been riveted to Lady Diana’s jewelry, partly inherited from Kate (see Swan Lake Suite. But also King Charles has a jewel that he has been wearing for almost fifty years. and what he hasn’t stopped wearing since the 70s: his gold chevalier ring on his little finger. He had it when he announced his engagement to Diana in the press in February 1981, when he married a few months later, at the birth of his sons William and Harry, and at the princess’s funeral and wedding to Camilla, and finally at the coronation the 6th of May.
This ring is very dear to Charles, who received it as a gift from his mother, Elizabeth, along with the title of Prince of Wales.. The jewel is engraved with a crown surmounted by a feather and the word “their day“, which translates as “servant”, in memory of his service to the country. “Do not serve, but serve” – this was actually the formula uttered at the coronation by Charles to the Archbishop of Canterbury. Among families of ancient origin, this is a common and well-established tradition of wearing a ring with a signet, reproducing the personal coat of arms that the nobles used to mark their documents in the past.Today, the function “imprimatura” instead of the signature has long been replaced, but the ring is still used as a distinctive accessory of the nobility.
Signet rings date back to 3500 BC, when the Mesopotamians wore cylinder seals made of clay or wax and were used to authenticate documents. In the Middle Ages, rings were also used as a signature to authenticate documents, identify a person’s coat of arms, and political affiliation. When a person died, their ring was usually destroyed to avoid forgery. In the 1800s, the chevalier ring began to be worn mainly by members of the royal family, aristocrats and government officials, whose status and heritage were symbolized by insignia engraved on a gold or silver ring. With the twentieth century, the function of the ring as a source of security was supplanted by stamps and stamp papers, and its use also spread among rural gentlemen, so much so that these rings were called “gentleman’s rings”, used more as an aesthetic element. element and demonstration of one’s nobility than with a practical function.
This is not the case when even Camille has one personalized with her cutie marks, just like the Middletons – not only Kate’s parents, but also her sister Pippa – after Elizabeth gave them the family coat of arms as a token of welcome. From the day of his second marriage to the then Duchess of Cornwall, Charles wore it in front of a gold engagement ring with which he swore eternal love to Camilla, which confirms his reputation elegant refereeattentive to every detail of style, right down to the fingertips.
Source: Elle