Meghan Markle has amassed a staggering £600k of jewellery as a royal – including Princess Diana’s £75k ring
ALL eyes were on Meghan Markle when she stepped out at Trooping the Colour earlier this month.
It was her first time at an official royal event since giving birth to baby Archie in early May - but it was the new bling on her finger that got everyone talking.
Her eternity ring is understood to have been given to the Duchess of Sussex, 37, by Prince Harry, 34, to celebrate their first wedding anniversary.
The diamond band is believed to have cost £4,350, and was created by Harry Collins, the Queen’s personal jeweller.
However, it is just one of many items the new mum has amassed in her first year as a royal.
In a collection estimated to be worth £600,000, according to the , she is thought to have 91 pieces in total - including seven necklaces, 23 bracelets, 26 rings and 35 pairs of earrings.
It is already more extensive than the jewellery owned by Kate Middleton, who has about 60 pieces - including Princess Diana’s sapphire engagement ring, worth an estimated £300,000.
And it is a collection already larger than that accumulated by her late mother-in-law.
Meghan has been gifted a number of items previously belonging to Diana.
One of the most expensive is a £75,000 aquamarine ring, which she wore on her wedding evening reception.
The Duchess paired it with £60,000 18ct gold Cartier drop earrings, which featured 19 round diamonds and ten rectangular stones.
On the first day of her and Harry’s Australian tour last year, after they announced their pregnancy, she wore Diana's £2,300 butterfly earrings and a gold bracelet.
Harry's mum had worn them on a 1986 tour of Canada when he was a toddler.
However, Princess Diana is not the only royal whose jewellery has been bequeathed to Meghan.
The Queen has given her grandson's wife a set of £4,275 pearl and diamond earrings.
Meghan has already worn them three times, including during an official visit to Cheshire with the Queen, and arriving in Fiji during last year's tour.
"The Royal Family is one of the best examples of how diamond jewellery can stand the test of time, be passed down from generation to generation, and only grows in emotional and intrinsic value over the years," Grant Mobley, a jeweller, explained.
Meghan also knows the power of jewellery as a royal.
She wore an £8,800 Tattoo Diamond necklace by Jessica McCormack - which was inspired by Maori carvings - three times during a trip to New Zealand last year.
Perhaps the most expensive item belonging to Meghan is the £122,500 engagement ring designed by the Duke of Sussex and made by Royal jeweller Cleave and Company.
However, the Duchess is also a fan of more affordable jewellery.
After all, many speculated she was first dating Harry when she showed off an identical African bracelet to his in an Instagram post.
Much of the jewellery Meghan owns is valued at less than £100.
She is a fan of brands such as Missoma, which is stocked in John Lewis, and French brand Gas Bijoux.
On her first visit to Sussex she wore a £320 pavé diamond necklace by LA designer Adina Reyter, as well as Missoma bracelets worth £70, £75 and £8 and their £79 signet ring.
To Morocco, she sported a pair of £129 statement Gas Bijoux earrings.
Similarly, Meghan is also drawn to ethical designers, including jeweller Pippa Small.
She wore a £1,400 Pippa Small triple-stone aquamarine necklace in Tonga.
The Duchess also wore four Pippa Small rings on her hand - worth a total of £9,000 - to Princess Eugenie's October wedding.
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