Why Kate Middleton altered Princess Diana's engagement ring before her marriage to Prince William

Prince William proposed to Kate Middleton in 2010 with a sparkling sapphire engagement ring that once belonged to his late mother Princess Diana. The ring features a 12-carat oval blue sapphire set in 18-karat white gold surrounded by fourteen solitaire diamonds, and continues to be worn by the Duchess of Cambridge to this day.

However, Kate had to alter the ring shortly before her wedding in April 2011, as she found the band was too big and kept "turning on her finger." The iconic ring was taken to royal jewellers G Collins and Sons, who made the tweak to the ring so it would fit her better. Instead of reducing the band size, the jewellers attached small platinum beads inside the bottom of the ring to give it a better fit.

A source told The Sun at the time that the Duchess "adores" the ring of her late mother-in-law, but found it had been too big. The insider said about the piece of jewellery, "A bride's worst nightmare is looking down and seeing her ring has fallen off. One can only imagine how this is magnified when you are marrying the future King of England."

After getting it altered, Kate always wears the ring on her finger, alongside her beautiful wedding ring which is made from Welsh gold. However, a documentary claims that the eldest daughter-in-law of Prince Charles and Princess Diana almost nearly didn't inherit the ring of the late royal.

As per the documentary "The Diana Story," it was because it is believed that the ring was originally given to William's younger brother Prince Harry. Diana's former butler Paul Burrell said in the programme that after Diana's death in a car crash in Paris in 1997, Prince Charles had allowed his sons to select pieces from her jewellery collection to keep.

William chose her gold Cartier watch, while Harry picked up the sapphire ring. However, he "selflessly" gave up the ring so his elder brother could propose to Kate with their mother's heirloom.

Diana, who got the ring upon her engagement to Prince Charles in February 1981, had continued wearing it even after their divorce. Her selection of the gorgeous ring was considered unusual since it was neither custom-made nor unique and was available for all to purchase from then-crown jeweller Garrard's collection.