Hereditary Grand Duke Guillaume of Luxembourg is engaged to Countess Stephanie de Lannoy, from Belgium.

I watched this video of their official photos and press conference, and I have to say that the pair are absolutely adorable. Guillaume is very sweet and obviously very in love, as is Stephanie, who cuts a very elegant and regal figure. She looks like a wonderful addition to the royal Luxembourg clan!

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!

ON THIS DAY: April 21, 1926

Elizabeth Alexandra Mary was born to The Duke and Duchess of York. She is the first granddaughter for Their Majesties King George V and Queen Mary.

Unknown at the time, little Lilibet would become a record breaking, internationally acclaimed monarch whose duty to the nation and Commonwealth is celebrated across the world. Today the Queen celebrates her 86th birthday with her family in the year of her Diamond Jubilee.

If only King George V & Queen Mary could see her now! How proud they would be!

Happy birthday, Ma’am!

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.

HM The Queen’s first grandchild has provided her with a second great-grandchild.

Peter Phillips and his wife, Autumn, welcomed a second daughter to the family. Isla Elizabeth Phillips, born Thursday, March 29th, weighs in at 7 lbs. 4 oz. (3.29 kilograms). She is 13th in line to the British throne, after her older sister Savannah.

Peter is the son of HRH Princess Anne, the Queen’s only daughter.

Related articles

• Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II Becomes a Great-Grandmother for the Second Time (royalcorrespondent.com)
• RBS sees Princess Royal’s son Peter Phillips as a long-term investment (telegraph.co.uk)