When it comes to her jewelry collection, the Duchess of Sussex is known for treasuring deeply personal pieces. From the Cartier Tank Française watch once owned by her late mother-in-law, Diana, Princess of Wales, to the “H” necklace she was photographed wearing in the very early days of her relationship with Prince Harry, she’s always chosen pieces that are quite literally close to her heart.
It’s no surprise, then, that whenever Meghan debuts a new piece of jewelry, eagle-eyed royal watchers race to decipher its meaning. The latest? While out and about supporting her husband at the Invictus Games in Vancouver and Whistler last week, she was spotted wearing a new signet ring on her right pinky finger.
Historically, signet rings have long been associated with the upper classes and aristocracy, and royalty in particular, typically passed from generation to generation (it was a major part of Leo Woodall’s wardrobe when he played posh boy Dexter Mayhew in last year’s Netflix hit, One Day). And it’s not even Meghan’s first pinky ring—she previously wore Missoma’s Open Heart design on the same finger. By wearing a signet, she’s placing herself within the long line of royal women who have worn them before her.
“There is a long history of small, beautiful, and often personal rings being made for monarchs centuries ago—Richard III, Henry VIII, Mary I, and Elizabeth I all had them,” explains royal historian Gareth Russell. “More recently, the signet ring was first popularised for royal women by Diana, Princess of Wales, in the 1980s, a trend that has continued with the current Princess of Wales and the Duchess of Edinburgh.”
Yet perhaps the most interesting element of this new addition to Meghan’s jewelry box is that it’s been engraved with her and Harry’s royal cipher. Featuring a cursive ‘HM’ with a coronet above it, the couple’s royal monogram was designed following their marriage in 2018, and is used on all of their official correspondence. Her decision to wear it prominently could be interpreted as Meghan’s way of signaling that she is still a member of the royal family, and proudly so. Or as a not-so-subtle way of telling naysayers (like those commentators who insisted she and Harry shouldn’t use their royal titles post-Megxit) that she doesn’t care what they think.
