Our fascination with the royals never seems to wane. They live a life of luxury most of us will never know and their personal style has been the subject of inspiration through the years. And their iconic engagement rings are a big part of the allure.

May we throw it back to the 1980s, when Princess Diana and Prince Charles got engaged via a sapphire, emerald-shaped ring that relaunched a fervor for colored-stone rings. While Diana was not the first in the royal line to dazzle the masses with her ring, it was the era’s global media explosion that made her ring as famous as the wearer herself. And that has continued for decades later: The current Princess of Wales, Kate Middleton, received the same engagement ring when Prince William proposed in 2010. More recently, the three-stone engagement ring Prince Harry gave Meghan Markle when he proposed in 2017 dazzled millions of fans worldwide, thanks to the sentimental touch the Duke of Sussex added by using diamonds from his late mother’s personal collection.

It’s details like these that give a glimpse into the style of the times and the rich heritage of the family. Whether you’re in need of inspiration for an engagement ring or love a bit of history of the monarchies, there’s something to gain from a look into royal engagement rings. Ahead, we took a deep dive into the history of alluring (and at times scandalous) royal engagement rings.

Princess Diana

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Easily the most recognizable engagement ring in the royal family and the world, Princess Diana’s blue Ceylon faceted sapphire ring comes in at a whopping 12 carats. The sapphire, encircled by 14 solitaire diamonds, was designed by the famed House of Garrard. What makes the ring unique is Diana and Charles chose the style from the jeweler’s catalog, which means anyone could purchase the same style. Plus, it was a break from tradition as many engagement rings before were typically designed with a royal heirloom. To keep a bit of the royal family in the design, Charles and Diana liked that the ring was reminiscent of Queen Elizabeth I’s sapphire brooch, which she wore on her wedding day.

Kate Middleton

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Kate Middleton now holds Princess Diana’s famous engagement ring. Inheriting the piece from his mother, William proposed to Kate with the ring as a way to carry on his mother’s legacy and keep her close. The ring was resized to fit Middleton in a platinum band and is now estimated to be $500,000. Quite a leap from when Charles first purchased the ring back in 1981 for $37,000. We’ll have to wait and see if the couple passes on the ring to one of their children in the future to continue the family tradition.

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Meghan Markle

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Living out the fairytale dream of being whisked away by a prince, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry became engaged in 2017. Harry proposed with a tri-stone diamond ring of his design. The five-carat center diamond originates from Botswana, where the couple shared their first trip. The two small diamonds on either side are from the late Princess Diana’s jewelry collection making the Duchess of Sussex’s ring one of a kind. Most recently Meghan had the ring altered with an added micro pavé band for some extra sparkle.

Queen Elizabeth II

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In a sweet and romantic endeavor, Prince Phillip designed Elizabeth II’s engagement ring with diamonds from his late mother’s tiara, Princess Alice of Battenberg. The center stone is a three-carat diamond surrounded by five pavé diamonds on either side. Phillip took the excess diamonds from the tiara to make a diamond bracelet as a wedding gift for Elizabeth. The tiara holds even more historical significance as it was gifted to Princess Alice on her wedding day by Tsar Nicholas II and Tsarina Alexandra of Russia. Generations of royal history sit on that ring!

The Queen Mother

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The Queen Mother had a bit of an independent streak in her youth. Initially, she refused the proposal from Prince Albert for fear of losing her freedom, but in 1923 after his third proposal, Elizabeth said yes. The Duke of York and Elizabeth chose a Kashmir sapphire, an extremely rare stone, as the centerpiece flanked by two diamonds. Around 1946 the Queen was seen wearing a different ring with a large pearl at the center surrounded by diamonds. The pearl ring was said to be much more Elizabeth’s style and better suited to her personality.

Princess Margaret

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Though Princess Margaret’s ring was rarely photographed, we do know that for his proposal in 1960, Antony Armstrong-Jones presented Margaret with a ruby and diamond ring. The center ruby was a pinkish-red hue and surrounded by large cut diamonds in a similar shape to petals. The stones were designed to resemble a rosebud in honor of her middle name Rose and the sentimental engagement ring was set in platinum on a yellow gold band. Armstrong-Jones knew this unconventional but sweet design was the perfect compliment to Margaret’s free spirit.

Queen Camilla

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For Charles and Camilla’s engagement, they chose to go with a piece of jewelry with royal heritage. What was once a ring belonging to the Queen Mother, Camilla’s engagement ring is a five-carat emerald cut diamond the Queen Mother would wear on occasion. The large center stone is flanked by two diamond baguettes on either side. The stunning ring embodies a classic art deco design, a great example of the Queen Mother’s style that lives on with Camilla, the Queen Consort.

Princess Anne

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Princess Anne has had not one, but two sapphire and diamond engagement rings. In her engagement to Mark Phillips in 1973, her first ring featured a two-carat cabochon cut blue sapphire stone on a traditional band of yellow Welsh gold. On either side of the sapphire was a single white diamond. The princess remarried in 1992 to Timothy Laurence, a commander in the Royal Navy, in a smaller ceremony in Scotland. Similarly to her first ring, this engagement ring also prominently featured a cabochon cut sapphire weighing three carats with three small white diamonds on either side. It seems Princess Anne really set the precedent for sapphire engagement rings!

Sophie, Countess of Wessex

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When Prince Edward met Sophie in 1987 she was working in PR at Capital Radio. Six years later, Edward proposed to Sophie with a dazzling two-carat oval-cut diamond ring with small heart-shaped diamonds on either side. As is tradition, the ring was designed by House of Garrard. Just another dreamy story of a young woman from humble beginnings meeting her prince charming.

Princess Eugenie

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The younger sister of Princess Beatrice, Princess Eugenie, and Jack Brooksbank got engaged during a romantic trip to Nicaragua in 2018. Brooksbank had found the perfect ring for the princess, an extremely rare light pink Padparadscha sapphire that’s estimated to be three carats. He proposed to Eugenie without the ring so the couple could design it together. Similarly to her mother’s ring, Sarah Ferguson Duchess of York, the pink center stone is surrounded by a halo of white diamonds and set on a Welsh gold band.

Queen Letizia

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A former TV news anchor, Queen Letizia has quite a unique engagement ring. Instead of featuring a large center stone, she opted for a white gold infinity band featuring 16 sparkling baguette-cut diamonds. The Queen is known to have modest taste in jewelry so the sparkling band fits her personality perfectly. These days you won’t often see her wearing the band as she’s noted since she meets with dignitaries daily, the ring hurts her hand after endless handshaking. Instead, she opted for a simple gold band designed by Karen Hallam.