The Duchess of Sussex left her engagement ring from Prince Harry at home during the couple’s first joint engagement in the UK since returning to the country.
Meghan, 45, has not been photographed wearing the ring for nearly nine months. Her appearance at the royal-style event in Nottingham had prompted speculation that she might bring the distinctive diamond ring back into view.
The city holds particular significance for the couple, as it was where Harry and Meghan carried out their first royal walkabout together after announcing their engagement in 2017.
Meghan wore a £1,500 cashmere coat and £650 burgundy heels by London-based designer Jennifer Chamandi. However, she kept her jewellery understated, opting not to wear the £120,000 diamond engagement ring Harry used when he proposed.
The Duchess was last seen wearing the ring in February 2026, when she attended an NBA game in California.
For the Nottingham outing, Meghan paired her autumnal look, including a burgundy Joseph coat, with her wedding band and the bedazzled fitness tracker she is now rarely seen without.
Alongside the Oura ring concealed within a bespoke, diamond-encrusted gold ‘sleeve’ by Logan Hollowell, she wore a new and unidentified gold band on her right hand.
She also wore Princess Diana’s Cartier Tank Française watch, valued at £17,800 ($24,020), which was given to her after her marriage to the Duke of Sussex.
Meghan Markle did not wear her engagement ring from Prince Harry during their first joint engagement in the UK since returning to the country.
Meghan is rarely seen without Princess Diana’s Cartier Tank Française watch.
Harry proposed to Meghan in 2017, commissioning Cleave & Company, the late Queen Elizabeth II’s regular jeweller, to create a one-of-a-kind engagement ring for his future bride.
The prince reportedly took a ring from Meghan’s jewellery box so the designers could confirm her size. In a touching tribute to his late mother, he also asked them to ‘harvest’ diamonds from one of Diana’s bracelets for the design.
Since the proposal at Nottingham Cottage, the ring is believed to have been modified four times. Meghan was seen wearing it at Trooping the Colour in June 2019 with a thinner band than the original design.
Small diamonds had also been added along the sides of the ring. The updated design was valued at about £126,000 ($150,000), with jewellery expert Arabel Lebrusan suggesting the changes reflected a more American style.
Royal commentator Omid Scobie wrote in Finding Freedom that the decision to resize and reset Meghan’s engagement ring with a new diamond band in 2019 came from Harry.
According to the biography, celebrity jeweller Lorraine Schwartz described the prince by saying: ‘He’s the loveliest person ever. So romantic, so thoughtful.’
The authors added: ‘(So much so that Harry also thought to have Lorraine resize and reset Meghan’s engagement ring with a new diamond band.)’
Further speculation emerged in 2022 when Meghan attended the Invictus Games in The Hague. Observers believed additional diamonds had been added around the central stone, suggesting the ring may have been altered for a second time.
The engagement ring was missing from several of Meghan’s public appearances in 2023. At the time, reports suggested that a loose stone was being repaired, prompting some observers to believe it had undergone a third alteration.
In 2025, eagle-eyed royal fans also claimed the centre stone appeared to be an emerald cut rather than the original cushion cut when the ring was briefly visible in a trailer for Meghan’s since-cancelled Netflix series.
A crowd of 100 fans gathered to greet Harry and Meghan during their first joint public appearance since returning to the UK.
The Duchess accepted bouquets and balloons from well-wishers as she told them ‘it’s great to be back’ ahead of a series of royal-style engagements in Nottingham today.
Harry repeatedly placed a protective arm around her as they posed for selfies and chatted with members of the public during a royal-style walkabout, their first official public appearance together in the UK since the Queen’s funeral in 2022.
The couple also posed for selfies with well-wishers, with Harry putting a protective arm around his wife on several occasions. At one point, Meghan appeared to show someone in the crowd her jewellery.
The Duchess beamed as she shook hands and took selfies with fans, including one boy who asked if she lived in a mansion and another who wanted to know whether she had a Bentley.
Meghan accessorised her autumnal outfit – including the burgundy coat from Joseph – with her wedding band and her bedazzled fitness tracker
Today’s engagements came after the Sussexes were described as ‘private citizens’ by the King, who is in Wales with the Queen for an official engagement today.
Nottingham is the city where the couple carried out their first royal walkabout together after announcing their engagement in 2017.
But almost a decade on, Meghan does not see herself as a working royal and is instead more of a ‘full-time mum and entrepreneur’, a friend has said, adding that public events like this with her husband will be ‘rare’ for her.
Meghan took bunches of yellow and white flowers from supporters who had waited to see her and Harry this morning.
The couple were given balloons, including one in the shape of a unicorn. The duke stopped to tell one woman he liked her bright pink jacket and that it was ‘very nice’ to see everyone.
Emily Davis, 21, who gave Meghan a bunch of yellow flowers said it was an honour to meet her.
Ms Davis told the Press Association: ‘I gave her flowers, and I shook her hand. I just said, “I’ve always wanted to meet you. It’s an honour”.
‘She looks amazing up close. She was dressed amazingly. I gave her a card, and she folded it up and put it in her pocket so she can read it later.’
Ms Davis said she wrote on the card that Meghan ‘really inspires’ her.
Harry and Meghan were greeted by the chief executive of the Community Recording Studio, Trevor Rose, before they entered the building.
More than 100 people were waiting for the couple in the East Midlands this morning
Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, gestures as she meets with people upon her arrival
Meghan kisses Irene Hardman, 90, who was there to greet them in 2017 and returned today with a framed photo from the day
Meghan bowed and clutched her hands to her chest after a warm reception
The crowd cheered excitedly when the couple disappeared out of view into the community hub.
They are supporting a number of charities, including a community food project established in the wake of the Grenfell Tower tragedy and a recording studio where Meghan will take part in an acting workshop.
The Sussexes are visiting three charities, starting with the Community Recording Studio, where Meghan is due to take part in an acting workshop.
The couple will then visit the Himmah food bank alongside the Hubb Community Kitchen and Epic Partners, a charity offering sports mentoring for children aged four to 18.
Hubb, which was established after the Grenfell Tower fire claimed 72 lives in June 2017, has long been a passion project for Meghan. She wrote the foreword to its 2018 cookbook, Together.
There is a ‘really nice synergy’ in their return to Nottingham nine years on, a source said, while adding that things have changed since they were last there.
And Meghan, who was out for lunch with her royal wedding hairdresser in London yesterday, will not be making these kinds of visits often.
‘Her public appearances will be relatively rare. She is reading a lot of scripts at the moment. If she has time left after all of that, she will do some charity work,’ the Sussex source said.
‘But she’s not a working royal. Her day isn’t organised around a programme pulled together by a private secretary. She’s a full-time mum and entrepreneur, and that alone takes up a lot of time and work.’
Meghan is hoping to launch As Ever in the UK by the end of this year.
Harry is focused on his charity work, especially Invictus, while Meghan is more focused on business and her potential return to acting.
‘They have different professional priorities,’ one source told the Telegraph.
‘Prince Harry’s is his philanthropic work and public service. Her focus is on her family and children, followed by her business, followed by rebooting her acting career.’
Meghan has been busy in the past fortnight, launching a new advent calendar and a collaboration with Nobel Peace Prize-winner Malala Yousafzai.
She is donating a day’s proceeds of all jam and tea sales from her Californian brand As Ever to Yousafzai’s charity, the Malala Fund, in honour of the International Day of the Girl on October 11.
Although Our News Outlet’s Alison Boshoff revealed that this may end up being less than the £2,000 value of the trousers she wore when they met at Claridge’s last week.
On Sunday, alongside a shot of her grinning at that tea, as Malala looked solemn, the Duchess shared a joint statement from the pair.
‘When we support the girls today, we empower the women of tomorrow. Access to education is the key to unlocking this,’ she said.
She then told her 4.9million followers: ‘This International Day of the Girl, in partnership with Archewell Philanthropies, 100 per cent of net proceeds from As Ever jams and teas will support Malala Fund and its vital work to ensure every girl has access to free safe quality education. Tea for Two has never felt so good. Shop at asever.com.’
