Happy 10th Anniversary William & Catherine
On the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s tenth wedding anniversary on April 29th we look back at why the British royals wear Welsh gold wedding bands.
While celebrities tend to choose wedding bands adorned with diamonds to match the bling of their engagement rings, British royalty including the Duchess of Cambridge and the Duchess of Sussex opt for something more understated. For nearly 100 years Britain’s senior royals have worn plain yellow gold wedding rings and this regal metal has derived from Wales – the rarest, most expensive in the world with Welsh gold bullion worth up to five times the spot price.
The custom started with the Queen Mother in 1923 when a nugget of pure gold from the Clogau St David’s mine in North Wales was gifted to the royal family, a piece of which was used to make the then Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon’s wedding ring for her marriage to the future King George V1. That same nugget was used to craft wedding bands for Queen Elizabeth, Princess Margaret, Princess Anne and Princess Diana.
Handily in the 1980s the Queen was gifted more gold from Wales. 36kg was presented by the Royal British Legion part of which was used to make Sarah, Duchess of York and, it’s thought, Sophie, Countess of Wessex’s wedding rings. And 1kg was gifted from Gwynfynydd mine in celebration of the Queen’s 60thbirthday. This is likely the source of Catherine and Meghan’s wedding rings.
Ahead of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s nuptials St James’s Palace made the statement; “The wedding ring that Catherine Middleton will wear will be made of Welsh gold. The gold was given to Prince William by The Queen shortly after the couple were engaged. It has been in the family’s possession for some years and has been in the care of the Royal Jewellers. There are no further details on which mine the gold was mined from.”
Sitting half hidden by her huge sapphire engagement ring, Catherine’s slim yellow gold wedding band was made by royal warrant holders Wartski. Fittingly the jeweller was founded in North Wales and has a store in St James’s, just around the corner from Prince William’s London home at the time.
Similarly at the time of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge’s marriage Kensington Palace made the statement; “Ms Markle’s ring has been fashioned from a piece of Welsh gold, gifted by Her Majesty The Queen.” The band was made by Cleave and Company which also holds royal warrants and is the jeweller Prince Harry chose to create his now wife’s engagement ring. A spokesperson for Cleave says they were asked to produce “a classic 18 ct gold wedding band” for the Duchess. The ring appears to be daintily slim, in keeping with Meghan’s apparent fondness for delicate jewellery.
Gold hasn’t been extracted in Wales since 1998 however Alba Mineral Resources who took over Clogau in 2018 plans to reopen the mine and has also submitted an application for exploratory digs on nearby land in Snowdonia. So there could be a new Welsh Gold Rush on the way which would ensure the royals’ wedding ring tradition continuing for some years yet.
Chopstix & the City 