From solitaires to triple-stone settings, diamond rings have long been the tradition when declaring undying love. Figures like Queen Elizabeth II, Queen Margrethe II of Denmark, and Crown Princess Victoria of Sweden all sport the iconic sparkling diamond in their engagement rings.

Some royals chose to buck that tradition, however, and instead go for a colorful gem – or two or three – to present to their intended brides. Look no further than this fascinating array of gems worn by several royal lovebirds for inspiration:

Stunning Sapphire –

The most famous precious gem in recent times belonged to the late Diana, Princess of Wales. The eye-popping 18-carat oval sapphire surrounded by diamonds was chosen by Diana herself for her engagement to Prince Charles in 1981. The engagement ring is now worn by her daughter-in-law Catherine, the Duchess of Cambridge.

Charles and Diana’s son, Prince William, used this ring to propose to the former Kate Middleton while on holiday in Kenya together. With Diana in his thoughts, “this was my way of keeping her close to it all,” said William.

However, Diana was not the first to wear a sapphire and diamond engagement ring. Several styles of royal rings over the years have incorporated the diamond and sapphire theme.

In 1973, Captain Mark Phillips presented the Queen’s only daughter, Princess Anne, with a triple-stone set ring – a sapphire flanked by two diamonds. In 1994, Prince Pavlos of Greece gave heiress Marie-Chantal Miller a cabochon cut blue sapphire alongside a heart-shaped diamond. Pavlo’s brother, Nikolaos, took similar inspiration and proposed to his girlfriend, Tatiana Blatnik, with a deep blue sapphire ring surrounded by a halo of smaller, channel-set diamonds.

Cultural Ties –

Many royal engagement rings have a cultural significance. A young Maxima Zorreguieta was betrothed in 2001 with an orange diamond presented to her by the Dutch Crown Prince, Willem-Alexander. The Dutch Royal house is also known as the House of Orange, a color which symbolizes the Protestant faith.

Crown Prince Frederik of Denmark was swept away by Australian-born Mary Donaldson, whom he presented with an emerald-cut diamond flanked by two emerald-cut rubies, the red and white colors of the Danish flag. His brother, Prince Joachim, set that precedent when he gave former wife Alexandra a ring with diamond and ruby stones set in gold when he proposed in 1995.

Fast-forward to 2007. Prince Joachim, now divorced from Alexandra, became engaged to his French girlfriend, Marie Cavallier. The Danish prince gets the award for most unique engagement ring of all with this proposal – he presented Marie with a gold “giraffe” style ring surmounted by three oval-cut stones: a sapphire, a diamond, and a ruby. The colors represent the blue, white and red colors of the French flag. The ring was designed by jewelry artist Mette Rosgaard.

Personal Perfection –

Her Royal Highness Princess Margaret, the Queen’s younger sister, was engaged to photographer friend Antony Armstrong-Jones in 1960. He had the ruby and diamond ring designed to resemble a rose in honor of the princess, whose full name was Margaret Rose.

Prince Andrew, the Duke of York, proposed to his flame-haired girlfriend Sarah Ferguson with a ruby surrounded by smaller diamonds mounted in gold. The prince chose a stone to match his fiancée’s lovely hair.

The platinum-haired Mette-Marit Tjessem Høiby was made a princess with a family heirloom ring from Crown Prince Haakon of Norway. The ruby and diamond ring was the engagement ring of Haakon’s mother, Queen Sonja, and his grandmother, Princess Märtha of Sweden.

(Many thanks to the people at the PriceScope.com message boards for a photo of Mette-Marit’s ring. It is hard to describe as just ruby and diamond. It takes a photo to really see it’s unique beauty!)

For all of your dreamy royal rings, check out Gemvara! You can personalize ANY ring and make it as unique as you are!

It was said of the Duke and Duchess of Windsor that their whole life was a holiday. It was literally endless rounds of parties and balls and vacations.

I read about Pippa Middleton’s favorite activity – parties – and often think that she may end up like the Windsors. It would seem that Ms. Middleton is perhaps striving for a wealthy husband with whom she can party, and extend her long vacation that is daily life. Kind of empty. Kind of sad.

The recent birthday party did nothing to detract from that assumption, but it did put a new spin on Pippa for me. During the soiree thrown for the French aristo Vicomte Arthur de Soul Train – er, Soultrait – Pippa was photographed with several men, adorned in racy fancy-dress attire, and mugging for the cameras. The following day Pips hopped into a zippy little Audi with three male companions. The driver suddenly turned around and brandished a pistol between the heads of his mates, aiming for a photographer who was following them.

It has been claimed that the gun was fake, and that it was all a joke. Stupid as well as ill-timed – France recently faced a rash of fatal shootings – Pippa may even be called in for questioning if her friend is prosecuted. Though Pippa isn’t royal, she’s certainly racking up negative attention for her sister, the new Duchess of Cambridge, and the royals. Will she learn?

It’s not the first time a royal or one of their associates has had a scandal or two. Especially the one royal who made it his job to entertain and be entertaining while waiting for the throne.

Yes, long before the oft-holidayed Windsors and Miss “Buns of Steel” Middleton, the boisterous King Edward VII, known as Bertie, certainly knew how to live it up, and regretted it not one iota.

During the dark years of Queen Victoria’s widowhood, Bertie met and married the beautiful Princess Alexandra of Denmark. Together the Prince of Wales and his new princess made the social rounds in London and began building a new home in the country in which they could house their eventual family, but also their friends and connections for long, fun filled days and nights.

The public loved their joie de vivre and felt that it was long overdue. To them, Queen Victoria was regal, but boring. Funereal ritual was not everyone’s cup of tea.

Victoria was none too pleased about their activities, running (or at least swiftly beckoning for) her pen and paper with which to write a heavily underlined, capitalized riposte to her wayward son. As if his parties and friends weren’t grating enough for the Queen, Bertie was even called into court as a witness during the “Royal Baccarat Scandal”. Hm, that sounds familiar. Pippa may find herself a curt email similar to a Victorian tongue-lashing from a palace press officer.

All of the social trailblazing she’s done over these many years have labelled Pippa a party hound, but looking back at history, she’s certainly not the first and won’t be the last. It would seem that after this incident, though, that Kate’s little sister is much more of a “Burlington Bertie” than the lost and lonely Windsors.

Majesty Review Jan. 2012 by Royalty_Now

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October 23rd, a Sunday, saw the Queen attending church services in Brisbane. Her Majesty, along with Prince Philip, the Duke of Edinburgh, attended morning Worship at St. John’s Church.

That afternoon, a reception and lunch was hosted by the Governor-General for the royal couple.

October 24th was an “away day” in Brisbane. The Queen and the Duke hopped aboard a river boat and traveled up the Brisbane River to Southbank. Once ashore, they visited the Queensland Performing Arts Center.

That afternoon, the royals met with emergency response personnel and members of the communities affected by the floods. The Queen and Prince Philip attended a re-dedication Ceremony of Rainforest and the opening of Rain Bank.

The Queen and Prince Philip were back in Canberra on Tuesday, October 25th. They visited the Australian War Memorial and viewed the Afghanistan Memorial, where the Queen placed a wreath. Later, the royal couple met with Australian Defense Force Personnel at Orientation Hall.

October 26th: Prince Philip and The Queen participated in another Away Day, this time in Melbourne, where they opened the Royal Children’s Hospital. That afternoon they toured Melbourne, starting with a visit to the Ian Potter Centre, National Gallery of Victoria; a walk through Federation Square and a ride on a Melbourne Tram; attended a reception hosted by the Governor of Victoria at Government House. The Queen was resplendent in pink throughout.

After the Away Day activities, The Queen and The Duke departed Melbourne for Perth.

On Thursday, October 27th, the royals paid a visit to Clontarf Aboriginal College. The Duke of Edinburgh was especially keen to see the sporting facilities. Afterwards, they attended a Garden Party at Government House, where the Queen turned out in her second stunning turquoise and white ensemble for the day.

Approximately one hundred students from across Western Australia lined a path to the lower gardens, when the Duke stopped to chat. Philip asked why the students were in pairs, and when told it was because they were the head boys and girls, he said in his typical blunt fashion: “It’s obvious they didn’t choose the attractive ones then”. (!)

Premier Colin Barnett was pleased to have the royal visitors come to the country, and he thanked the Queen and Prince Philip for visiting WA and presented the royals with a gift – a book of drawings of wild flowers from the Eastern Goldfields by Phillipa Nikulinsky.

October 28th: Her Majesty arrived at the Opening Ceremony of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting. The opening featured a vast array of leaders from around the world: 25 Prime Ministers, 10 Presidents, five Vice-Presidents, two Deputy Prime Ministers, one High Commissioner, a lord and the Sultan of Brunei.

“I have had the good fortune, together with Prince Philip, to attend many CHOGMs over many years. Their importance has always been in precise relationship to their relevance: always being attuned to the issues of the day, and always looking to the future with a sense of vision and practical action to match. In your deliberations over the days ahead, you have the encouragement of the whole Commonwealth to maintain this vital tradition.” – The Queen’s speech at the CHOGM

That evening, the royal couple attended a banquet at the Pan Pacific Hotel. For this occasion, the Queen busted out her best parure for the occasion – the brilliant aquamarine set in honor of the brilliantly blue ocean that surrounds Australia.

These gems are gifts from Brazil. The earrings and matching necklace were a Coronation gift to The Queen from the President and People of Brazil in 1953.

The stones sit inside a diamond and platinum setting. A few years later, in 1958, a bracelet and matching brooch were presented to The Queen by the Brazilian Government as a matching set to the original Coronation presents. Elizabeth then requested that royal jeweler Garrard complete the parure with a stunning tiara.

On Saturday, October 29th, the Queen and the Duke were feted by the Australian community during “The Big Aussie BBQ”. In the spirit of outdoor eating, the Queen topped off her elegant maroon and white outfit with a hat eerily reminiscent of a marshmallow. S’mores, anyone?

And so…

Elizabeth and Philip set off from Australia back to the U.K. after the barbeque. It was a highly successful visit and one that the Australian people will not soon forget. Her Majesty charmed everyone she met, and though there were one or two gaffes (Gillard’s curtsey controversy and Philip’s quips!) the royal couple made a happy and favorable impression on their Commonwealth neighbors. It also gave the United Kingdom a chance to present its history-making change to the succession law.

Vivat Regina! (And God Bless The Duke!)

Fold up that digital paper and put it in the box! ;-) What do you want to see change on the official British Monarchy website?? More in the video below: