On the heels of the engagement of Prince Harry to American actress Meghan Markle via this spectacular ring, we figured it would be a perfect time to take a look at some other engagement rings worn by royals over the years. Long live the happy couple!

Wallis Simpson, Duchess of Windsor

Since Ms. Markle is American, we thought it would be fun to start this list with another American to become a member of the British royal family: Wallis Simpson.

If you don’t know the story of Wallis and Prince Edward of Wales, you should. The two met in 1931 while she was married to Ernest Simpson and when Edward was the heir to the throne of England. They began an affair until the death of King George V in 1936, making Edward the King of England. After her divorce, Simpson was to marry King Edward but, due to opposition from the British government, the King had to abdicate his throne in order to marry the woman he loved, and the two became the Duke and Duchess of Windsor. It’s a romance story for the ages, and one that came with a spectacular ring.

Edward presented Wallis with a 19.77 carat emerald in a ring by Cartier just prior to his abdication of the throne, which the Duchess eventually had redesigned in 1958 to include diamonds in a yellow gold setting.

Princess Margaret

In sticking with the theme of colored stone engagement rings, the ring given to Princess Margaret—the sister of Queen Elizabeth II—by her then-future husband photographer Antony Armstrong-Jones was designed to resemble a budding rose (a reference to Margaret’s middle name) and contained a center ruby flanked with white diamonds in a circular pattern.

Sarah Ferguson, Duchess of York

It seems that rubies were all the rage with royals, and the engagement ring of Sarah Ferguson was no exception. Rumor has it that the redheaded, future (albeit short-lived) Duchess requested a Burmese ruby as her center stone in lieu of the emerald engagement ring originally selected for her. The ruby was set in a two-tone gold mounting with a halo of diamonds surrounding it, and she wore it alongside a gold Welsh wedding band, which is a tradition for many royals.

Sophie Rhys-Jones, Countess of Wessex

Now married to Edward, Earl of Wessex and the youngest of Queen Elizabeth’s four children, Sophie Rhys-Jones’s first steps into the British royal spotlight took the world’s breath away, mainly because of how much she resembled Diana, Princess of Wales. The ring then-Prince Edward gave to Sophie was created by Asprey and Garrard and contains a white oval diamond center stone with a heart (or trillion cut – there have been conflicting reports on this) diamond on either side of the center, with all three diamonds set into an 18K white gold mounting.

Diana, Princess of Wales (as well as Kate Middleton, Duchess of Cambridge)

The image of the very famous sapphire and diamond ring once worn by Lady Diana Spencer and now Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge, is probably embedded in all of our minds. The picture of a young, carefree Diana with her left hand over the shoulder of Prince Charles may likely be one of the most recognizable portraits of the 20^th century. When Prince William presented his future wife the ring that once belonged to a woman not just adored by his brother and him, but, seemingly, an entire world, a heartwarming feeling of nostalgia came over the planet and it was almost as if the hole left in our hearts could finally be healed.

The ring – originally made up of a 12-carat Ceylon sapphire surrounded by fourteen white round brilliant cut diamonds – was made in 18K gold by the jeweler Garrard and originally caused a bit of a stir throughout the kingdom because the ring wasn’t custom made for Diana, but rather one she chose (after the official engagement took place) out of the jeweler’s catalog, making it easy to replicate and not original to her. The style became extraordinarily popular in the 1980s and again when William and Kate tied the knot, and although the ring was originally given to Harry – not William – after Diana’s untimely death, Harry gave it to William when it come time for his proposal to Kate. If that’s not brotherly love, I don’t know what is!

Main image via Vogue Magazine.

It’s no secret that celebrities like to spend their earnings on lavish adornments for themselves and their significant others. On the red carpet, celebs typically borrow the jewelry they wear from major jewelers, but that doesn’t mean they don’t have a collection of their own. Check out some of the most lavish rings and collections belonging to your favorite celebrities.

6 Most Expensive Celebrity Engagement Rings:

6. Grace Kelly
Grace Kelly, American actress turned Princess of Monaco, lived the fairytale dream. At first, Prince Rainier III had proposed with a diamond and ruby eternity band by Cartier. However, he decided an emerald cut 10.47 carat diamond ring was a better fit. The ring is valued at $4.06 million.

5. Jennifer Lopez
Jennifer Lopez has had two of the most expensive celebrity engagement rings. Her priciest ring was from her marriage to Marc Anthony. The stunning ring holds a massive and rare 8.5-carat blue diamond valued at $4.1 million.

4. Paris Hilton,
Though the engagement was broken off after a few short months, the ring is much more remarkable. Patis Latsis proposed with a 25-carat diamond ring worth $4.7 million. In anticipation of the wedding that would never come, Latsis also gifted Hilton a second ring — a 21-carat canary diamond.

3. Beyonce, 18 carats, $5 million
It’s no surprise that Beyonce’s ring is among the most expensive. Hip hop icon Jay-Z proposed with an 18-carat Lorraine Schwartz diamond. The massive rock also comes at a massive price — $5 million.

2. Kim Kardashian West, 15 carats, $8 million
Kim Kardashian and Kanye West are not known as modest or thrifty. So, it comes to no surprise that Kanye proposed with a 15-carat diamond ring by Lorraine Schwartz. West designed the ring himself and shelled out $8 million for his vision of the perfect ring.

1. Elizabeth Taylor, 33.19 carats, $8.8 million
Elizabeth Taylor’s diamond ring was even named after. Formerly known as the Krupp diamond, the stone is now called the Elizabeth Taylor diamond. The ring was bought by Richard Burton and gifted to Taylor. It’s 33.19 carats and potentially internally flawless. It sold at auction after Taylor’s death for $8.8 million.

3 Most Expensive Jewelry Collections Sold at Auction:

3. Lily Safra

Lily Safra’s collection sold for a grand total of $37,924,551 during a Christie’s auction in 2012. The profits from the collection went to 32 charities. The sale included the largest collection of JAR jewels at 18 gems. The largest individual sale of the night was a Burmese ruby and diamond ring by Chaumet. The ring sold for $6,742,440. The picture above is a Cartier ‘Egalantine’ belle epoque necklace circa 1906 that sold for $1,168,653.

2. The Duchess of Windsor

The Duchess of Windsor, Wallis Simpson, was known for stylish and luxurious fashion sense. Simpson’s collection was auctioned by Sotheby’s in 1987 and earned $50.3 million. The collection is filled with rare pieces from the world’s top jewelry houses. Some of the highlights from the collection include a diamond and ruby necklace by Cartier which sold for $2,603,308, and Simpson’s 19.77-carat emerald engagement ring by Cartier which sold for $2.1 million.

1. Elizabeth Taylor

The auction of Elizabeth Taylor’s jewelry collection broke records for the largest private jewelry collection sold at auction. A total of 270 lots were sold over two days and totaled at $137,235,575. The most notable sale of the night was a 16th century, historic pearl necklace called La Peregrina and was sold for $11,842,500. The Elizabeth Taylor diamond, a 33.19-carat internally flawless diamond, broke the record for price per carat when it sold for $8,818,500. The Taj Mahal Diamond sold for $8,818,500 and broke the record for an Indian jewel sold at auction. A Bulgari emerald suite was also sold for $24,799,000 and included two brooches, a necklace, a bracelet, a ring and earrings.

Photo Credit: trisori.com / jewelsdujour.com / ibtimes.co.in