Eagle-eyed royal watchers are wondering whether King Charles has swapped out one of the most iconic and recognisable pieces of his look. The King was seen in a striking new portrait, which was unveiled by his sister, the Princess Royal, at the Scottish Parliament on Friday. The image shows Charles, 76, in the Sunken Garden in the grounds of his beloved Highlands estate at Balmoral Castle. The monarch was dressed in a traditional kilt made from the King Charles III tartan and held a handcrafted walking stick, which was a gift from the Mey Highland Games. In the image, he can be seen wearing a gold signet ring on his pinky finger.
Charles is known to wear a signet ring that bears the official symbol of the Prince of Wales, and it is believed to have been passed on to him by his uncle, Prince Edward, the Duke of Windsor, who was himself Prince of Wales before he ascended the throne (and later abdicated) in 1936. However, eagle-eyed fans have speculated that the King may be sporting a new signet ring with a different coat of arms.
A dedicated Reddit thread has royal watchers speculating whether the King has swapped out his trademark Prince of Wales signet ring for a new ring. Some commenters remarked that the coat of arms on the new ring bears a resemblance to a ring once worn by his father, Prince Philip. In younger photos of the late Duke of Edinburgh, he can be seen wearing a ring with the royal family of Greece's coat of arms on the bezel. The ring was reportedly passed down to the late duke by his father, Prince Andrew of Greece and Denmark.
The Prince of Wales signet ring that King Charles always wears is said to be over 175 years old. He is known to nestle his wedding ring beneath it, instead of on his traditional wedding finger. He did this with his marital band from Princess Diana right up until 2005, removing it after he announced his engagement to Queen Camilla. King Charles now wears his wedding band from Camilla proudly in the very same place – though sometimes, and even during his coronation ceremony, he wears the signet ring alone.
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Jewellery historian Helen Dimmick previously told HELLO! about the history behind the special ring. "Since the mid-1970s, King Charles III has been photographed wearing a signet ring on the smallest finger of his left hand," she said. "For the then Prince of Wales, this was a very personal and symbolic jewel – the precious yellow gold oval bezel is engraved with his heraldic badge of three ostrich feathers emerging from a gold coronet, with the ribbon below bearing the motto ‘Ich Dien’, or 'I serve'. We understand this very signet ring was a gift for King Charles from his Uncle, Prince Edward the Duke of Windsor, the previous Prince of Wales," she added.
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© GettyOver on The HELLO! Royal Club, HELLO!'s royal editor Emily Nash has addressed recent rumours of a rift between King Charles and his heir, Prince William. Emily spoke to royal insiders to get to the truth of the matter, and you can find out what they said by clicking the button below and joining HELLO!'s biggest royal fans in the biggest royal community online.
"Dating back to the Pharaohs, historically the signet ring has played an important role to authenticate documents, as the carved out individual crest left a permanent mark in any soft wax or clay. Sometimes known as ‘the gentlemen’s ring’, in recent decades women are just as likely to adopt the style. They are however still seen as a symbol of social standing, embodied by the etiquette of presenting a child on their 21st birthday with a signet ring of the family crest when they ‘come of age’ and have authority to use the crest."
