Princess Catherine’s New Eternity Ring Reappears in a Celebratory Message

Good news from Kensington Palace today: the Princess of Wales has completed chemotherapy treatment and is currently cancer free. In a video message sharing the news, Catherine made another appearance in a new ring, worn in place of her iconic diamond and sapphire engagement ring.

The Prince and Princess of Wales were filmed with their three children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis, for the video message announcing the conclusion of her recent cancer treatment and her upcoming return to official duties. (Royal reporters signaled that we may expect her to make appearances later this autumn at events like Remembrance Sunday and her annual Christmas carol service.)

The video, made by Will Warr, is a remarkably intimate look inside the life of the Waleses. After a year in which every frame of footage of the princess has been scrutinized endlessly, William and Kate have apparently decided to move forward by sharing more of themselves with the public rather than less. The couple is shown playing and joking with their three children in the video, and Kate’s parents, Michael and Carole Middleton, even make a brief appearance during a family card game. But William and Kate, surely keen to underscore the strength of their own relationship after such a tumultuous year, are also shown being affectionate with each other, something that they’ve rarely shared with the outside world.

For much of the video, Kate wears this printed dress with simple jewelry: a pair of earrings with pale gemstone drops and a necklace with a gold disc-shaped pendant. I’m guessing that the necklace is the Midnight Moon Necklace from the British jewelry designer Daniella Draper, which features a trio of teeny diamond stars and is engraved with the initials of William and Kate’s three children.

Even more interesting to me, though, is a ring that is showcased in multiple frames of the video. Kate’s left hand is shown repeatedly during the message, and she wears three rings stacked together on that hand: her Welsh gold wedding ring, her diamond eternity band, and a third gem-set band featuring alternating light and dark gemstones.

The newer ring, also an eternity-style band, is worn in place of her much larger sapphire and diamond engagement ring. That ring has been a mainstay in Kate’s life since William proposed in 2010, but there are many reasons why Kate may have decided to leave the engagement ring at home in her jewelry box this year. (Health concerns, including the need to wash hands frequently and changing finger sizes, as well as comfort and ease come to mind.) Kate’s also shown enjoying the outdoors with her family here–not the sort of activity when most women would usually wear their most glamorous jewels.

We glimpsed Kate wearing the same new eternity ring earlier this summer, when she and William shared a message congratulating the athletes from Team GB at the end of the recent Summer Olympic Games. At the time, numerous outlets jumped to identify the ring as a diamond and pearl piece that Kate wore early in her relationship with Prince William. I was not convinced, though, and today’s video underscores the fact that the two rings are quite different.

This newer ring is slimmer and stacks more elegantly with Kate’s other rings. Here, it’s shown in a clip from the video where Kate is driving a car. Much of the video is clearly designed to reinforce the idea that Kate is strong and well. She’s shown in active, capable positions, and as she has been in the imagery shared all year by Kensington Palace, she’s often surrounded by trees. As I’ve discussed previously, the idea of English trees and strength are running motifs in Kate’s image-making by the palace. All of these things tie together to highlight the idea of “eternity.”

The rings on Kate’s left hand, which represent her marriage and her family, as well as the endurance of those relationships, are continuously highlighted throughout the video. Two frames were particularly poignant to me. In this still, her hand is shown resting on William’s back, emphasizing her role as a crucial support for the future king.

And here, the eternity rings are front and center as she shares a hug with Prince George. Wife of one monarch, mother of another–and wearing rings that remind us all of her importance to both of them, and her hopes that she will continue to play that supporting role long into the future.