After six months of dating, then-32-year-old Prince Charles of Wales, now King Charles III, and 19-year-old Lady Diana Spencer, who later became Princess Diana, hosted a press conference 44 years ago on this day, Feb. 24, 1981, to announce their engagement.
“It is with greatest pleasure that the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh announce the betrothal of their beloved son the Prince of Wales to the Lady Diana Spencer, daughter of the Earl Spencer and the Honourable Mrs Shand Kydd,” said Lord Maclean, the Lord Chancellor of the now-late Queen Elizabeth II, at the Buckingham Palace.
The interview, which aired on BBC, is still remembered today by followers of the royal family for different reasons. One of them is the unveiling of Diana’s engagement ring.
Charles proposed to Diana with a Ceylon sapphire engagement ring selected from Garrard’s catalog. It was inspired by a brooch Prince Albert commissioned for Queen Victoria in 1840. The 12-carat oval-cut center stone is encircled by 14 diamonds and features an 18-karat white gold setting. The ring’s original price was $60,000, though its value is now worth an estimated $400,000. Diana reportedly chose the ring because it matched the color of her mother’s eyes.
Lady Diana Spencer and then Prince Charles during their engagement announcement.
Tim Graham Photo Library via Get
The interview is also considered a foreshadowing moment for many of Diana’s supporters due to one of Charles’ answers. When the interviewer questioned if they were in love, Diana replied, “Of course,” while Charles said, “Whatever in love means.”
In 1992, Diana reflected on the moment in Andrew Morton’s authorized biography, “Diana: In Her Own Words,” saying the engagement interview had “traumatized” her.
“We had this ghastly interview the day we announced our engagement. And this ridiculous [reporter] said, ‘Are you in love?’ I thought, what a thick question. So I said, ‘Yes, of course, we are,’ and Charles turned round and said, ‘Whatever love means.’ And that threw me completely. I thought, what a strange answer. It traumatised me,” Diana said.
Charles proposed to Diana at Windsor Castle on Feb. 6, 1981. The couple got married on July 29 that same year in St. Paul’s Cathedral. During their marriage, they had two children, Prince Harry and Prince William. Charles and Diana divorced in 1996. Diana continued to wear both her engagement and wedding rings afterward.
In 1997, following Diana’s death, Prince William inherited her engagement ring, which later found its happy ending with William using it to propose to Kate Middleton in 2010.
Prince William and Kate Middleton during their engagement announcement.
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“Obviously, she’s not going be around to share in all the fun and excitement, so this is my way of keeping her close to it all,” William said during his engagement interview.
A close up of Kate Middleton’s engagement ring as she poses for photographs in the State Apartments with her fiance Prince William of St James Palace on Nov. 16, 2010 in London.
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William and Middleton got married on April 29, 2011, at Westminster Abbey in London. They have been together since and have three children: Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.
