E!: Prince Harry is going to wear a wedding ring, unlike his older brother

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle announce their engagement

Prince William doesn’t wear a wedding band/ring. He never has worn one, and he doesn’t own one. Some say he never wore a ring because of his job as a pilot. Some say it was because he just doesn’t like jewelry. Some say it was a shady choice, in general. But now that we’re getting closer to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s wedding, we’re learning that Harry plans to wear a wedding ring. Good for him! I would think that Meghan would have insisted upon it, plus Harry likes to wear some man-jewelry.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s wedding is quickly approaching! In just over two weeks, the couple will tie the knot at St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle. But before the May 19 nuptials, we’re learning how Harry and Meghan’s wedding will differ from Prince William and Kate Middleton’s ceremony.

For one thing, a source tells E! News, Harry “does want to wear a wedding band,” unlike his older brother William, who “prefers to go without” one.

Seven years ago, before William and Kate’s wedding in April 2011, palace officials revealed that William had decided not to wear a wedding ring following the ceremony.

“It is simply down to personal preference,” an aide said at the time, (via Daily Mail). Penny Junor, the author of The Duchess: Camilla Parker Bowles and the Love Affair that Rocked the Crown, also told Vogue in 2017 that William “doesn’t like jewelry.”

Harry, on the other hand, has actually been spotted wearing matching jewelry with Meghan before. Back in 2016, the couple sported matching beaded bracelets. As for Meghan’s wedding ring, the insider confirms that the bride-to-be will wear a wedding ring made of the same type of Clogau-Welsh gold that was used for Harry’s late mother, Princess Diana, and Kate’s wedding rings.

[From E! News]

I keep forgetting that Meghan’s engagement ring is yellow-gold and not white-gold. So the Welsh yellow-gold band will look good with the engagement ring, and I would think that Harry’s wedding band will probably be yellow-gold too. But who knows, maybe he’ll go in a different direction. I get that many men and women don’t have strong opinions either way about men wearing rings, but I still like the fact that Harry is going to wear one. He wants the world to know that he’s “taken.” It’s sweet.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle attend an event at Millennium Point to celebrate International Women's Day in Birmingham

Newly Engaged Prince Harry and Meghan Markle visit Nottingham

Photos courtesy of PCN, Backgrid and WENN.

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74 Responses to “E!: Prince Harry is going to wear a wedding ring, unlike his older brother”

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  1. Hotsauceinmybag says:

    he so sprungggg 🙂

  2. Annabelle says:

    Prince Harry is with that like a mofo. First the cleansing diet and then the ring? Yep this mofo is whipped, in love, whipped, happy, whipped. That’s exactly how it should be.

    • Eh says:

      I get being happy and wanting to make your partner happy but I don’t see how being “whipped” is a good thing. It’s such a demeaning term. Oh no, a husband tries to be good to his wife and consider her desires and needs, must mean he’s a slave to the poon!

      It’s a reductive and sexist term. One of the few that manages to slander both genders. Gross.

      • MellyMel says:

        It’s not that deep.

      • ash says:

        damn eh….. killing ish with your super sensitive snowflake precious comments…ugh LOL

      • Annabelle says:

        Whipped, whipped, whipped, whipped. Whip high, whip low. Hot, sexy, latex bodysuited, baby powdered, super lubed up whipped. Don’t justice warrior it until you’ve tried it.

      • Gigi LaMoore says:

        @Eh, I agree with you.

      • Spring says:

        Whether acknowledged or not, whether said in light-hearted jest or derision, using “whipped” to describe one party in a relationship connotes a clear power differential, not a give-and-take relationship of equals. As Urban Dictionary puts it: “To be totally controlled and dominated by your girlfriend to the point of being completely distracted, ditching your friends, and/ or doing anything and everything she says. NOTE: there is a difference between sincerely loving your girlfriend and being whipped. Being whipped involves doing everything she says.”

        The hard truth is that too many men and women still tend to misconstrue and denigrate a relationship of equals — one where a man’s ego isn’t calling the shots — as one where he’s “whipped.” Words matter, and they reveal our underlying attitudes, sometimes in ways we don’t want to own. That’s neither deep nor super-sensitive snowflake precious, that’s just a fact.

    • Avery says:

      Whip it! Whip it Good!

  3. Tommy says:

    I think it’s a lovely gesture and he obviously has no qualms with jewelry. I doubt there is anyone in the known world who is going to look at William’s hand and lack of ring and think “ooh….that hottie must be single”. LOL

    • Eh says:

      Right? And anyone who knows who he is knows he’s married. He’s one of the few men who I wouldn’t side eye for a lack of ring!

    • Nicole says:

      Right?! My dad has been married for…25 years this year to my mom. Has a wedding band that he wore for the wedding and never again. No one questions if he’s single and if they don’t know him he sets them straight. Easy. He just hates jewelry and my mom doesn’t care. A ring doesn’t stop any man from cheating.

      • launicaangelina says:

        My dad and Mom have been married almost 38 years and dad has never worn a ring. He’s owns a masonry and construction business. Mom wears one now, but often didn’t when we were growing up. It’s a non issue for them. On the other hand, my husband and I wear rings. I’m all bling and my husband is on his 5th ring (third silicone). He’s rough and works with his hands.

      • Carmen says:

        My dad absolutely refused to wear a ring and he and my mom were happily married for 35 years before he passed away.

      • Nickname says:

        My parents were married for almost 40 years before he passed and I think I’ve seen his wedding ring once. He never wore it. He was a pilot so they tend not wear their rings anyway for safety reasons.

      • Liberty says:

        I think it is just a personal preference, Mr. L wanted a ring, and wears it every day except while golfing. It is his choice, and I am fine either way.

    • Anastasia says:

      Thank you, exactly what I was going to say. I mean, the world knows William is married.

      • Katie says:

        But not so much that he’s a hottie.

      • K2 says:

        I feel for William on that score, though. He was attractive until he was what, 22? 23? I’ve never seen anyone drop off the good-looking perch with such desperately premature finality. It was like Dorian Gray, but in rapid reverse.

      • Liberty says:

        Lol, Katie.

        But yes, I think the world knows at this point!

  4. Keepitreal says:

    I think by now the world already knows that he is “taken” whatever that means. Man wears wedding ring; nothing to see here.

    • Dutch says:

      Can we update that one statement to “A scrap of symbolic metal never stopped a man from doing anything.”? As phrased it makes you sound like you are unfamiliar with the concept of bullets.

  5. Skittlebrau says:

    My grandparents were married sixty years and my grandfather never owned a wedding ring. A scrap of metal never stopped a man from doing anything, only character does. The choice not to wear one wouldn’t bother me.

    • Kitty says:

      Hubby and I didn’t bother with rings. He is an electrician and can’t wear one at work, plus at home he and I are always tending to gardens and animals. No need for rings, I don’t wear one either. Like a commenter said above, wearing a ring is not going to stop someone from cheating

      • Keepitreal says:

        This, exactly!

      • Boudica says:

        So glad to hear of another woman who doesn’t wear a wedding ring. I’ve never considered the presence or absence of one on a married person’s finger as anything other than personal choice. It certainly isn’t going to stop someone from cheating.

    • Merritt says:

      One set of my grandparents were opposed to wedding rings for religious reasons. I never understood it. But that was their choice.

      • ash says:

        wait can you elaborate…im curiouos about this

      • Merritt says:

        They belonged to a strict church that was against things like jewelry because they felt it was a sign of materialism. I don’t know much a about it, I would have to ask my mom. My grandmother died when I was a little kid and my grandfather later changed denominations. Most of that side of the family eventually switched to less restrictive churches.

    • Scal says:

      As my mom says: commitment is in the heart, not on the hand.

  6. perplexed says:

    Who wouldn’t know that the two most famous princes and sons of the most famous dead woman in the world and members of the most famous royal family in the world are “taken”?

  7. Lela says:

    Lol I don’t think a ring for either Harry or William does anything, it’s not like the whole world doesn’t know who they are or their marital status.

  8. Jess... says:

    I am married, “taken” , and I don’t wear a wedding ring. I don’t see anything shady with not wearing one

  9. Lainey says:

    William wear she’s jewellery though so I don’t know why it’s said he doesn’t. He just didn’t wanna wear a wedding ring!

    • Merritt says:

      Does he wear rings though? Because wearing one type of jewelry is not the same as wearing all types of jewelry.

  10. lolamd says:

    I don’t wear a wedding ring either. I have almost lost my engagement ring 3 times because when i have it on I start absentmindedly playing with it. And I agree character not the ring matters.

  11. SJhere says:

    Aww, I think Harry is really happy with her. I wish them both well.
    Agree that rings are a personal choice.
    Personally I hate the entire wedding industry, over the top and the wedding day does not make a happy marriage.

  12. Pandy says:

    I like the idea that the rings are made from Welsh gold.

  13. Lindy says:

    I don’t think of wedding rings as some kind of armor against cheating; if someone’s going to cheat a ring certainly won’t stop them as many of you have observed. For me, the rings are important symbols–I love the notion that something small that’s part of what you wear every day can be a kind of touchstone for the love and commitment you share with your partner. My engagement ring belonged to my husband’s grandmother, who died when my husband’s mother was a little girl. My MIL wore that ring most of her adult life as a connection to her dead mother and when my husband gave it to me, it was incredibly meaningful. It feels like a connection to my husband’s past and to his family. Wedding rings can have really beautiful symbolic power, and can be small, material representations of the invisible but deeply meaningful connection you have with your partner.

    I love traditions and I do think it’s sweet that Harry wants to wear a ring.

    • magnoliarose says:

      My grandparents wear rings, my parents wear rings, and my husband and I wear rings. We love the symbol. It is about us and our love not about cheating or looking available. My grandparents are traditional, so of course, they wear rings. My husband and I traveled a lot early in our marriage, and when we were engaged, so we liked having that little connection to each other.

  14. Mel M says:

    Idk, I’m a jewelry person so I love my rings and love looking at other people’s rings. It’s interesting to me. My husband is not a jewelry person either but he wears a wedding ring, plain white gold band. He has never worn any other jewelry besides a watch, which he hasn’t in years anyway, but it was never an issue that was brought up before we got married. It was just like, let’s go pick out our wedding bands and that was that.

  15. Busyann says:

    I have never seen William wear a piece of jewelry. But I also don’t pay attention to him. I never thought his lack of a ring was shady. I mean, he’s one of the most recognizable people on earth, so yeah….we all know that he’s married. Now if he was just some dude Bill, and Bill was married and didn’t wear a ring…that is a different story.

  16. homeslice says:

    My husband and I wear matching bands. It was never an issue or big deal for us. My ring has been on since my wedding day (except for 2 c-sections) almost 14 years ago…I can’t get it off! I’m sad that I will need to have it sized and be without on my finger one day, it’s literally a part of me lol. My engagement ring doesn’t fit anymore either, I was like a 4 when I got married and now I’m normal. Thing is I’ve been putting off sizing because I think I want it re-set with sapphires (my birthstone) flanking the solitaire. I feel bad though…is it wrong to mess with the original???

    • BrandyAlexander says:

      Not at all! Tastes change, that is not a statement on the quality of your marriage. Change it to what “fits” you now 🙂

  17. spidee!!! says:

    In the UK until possibly after WWII or around then not many men did wear wedding rings. My father, and grandfather certainly didn’t and that wasn’t unusual.

  18. notasugarhere says:

    I wonder if he’ll wear it on his pinky like the other royal men (Philip, Charles, Andrew, Edward), or if he’ll go with ring finger.

    • Sage says:

      I hope he won’t wear the ring on his pinky…😁

    • Maria says:

      But they wear signet rings on their pinkies. Wouldn’t it look odd to wear a gold band on your pinky and nothing else?

      • notasugarhere says:

        Yes I think it would look odd, but it is how the BRF men usually do things. Maybe Harry will get a signet ring some day?

      • Aurelia says:

        Oooo, wonder if meghan’s parents will get themselves tacky new signet rings now they are moving up in the world.

  19. Sage says:

    That’s nice of Harry. Billy doesn’t have to wear his ring, as posters said above , everyone is aware he is married. Still, it would be nice if he did wear his ring since Kate wears her wedding ring and big blue.

    • Maria says:

      Kate actually wears three, engagement, wedding and an eternity ring given to her by William or her birthday.

      • notasugarhere says:

        Kate purchased the eternity band herself, the shopkeeper went on record about it. Who paid for it is another question.

      • MissM says:

        Kate actually bought the eternity band herself. It’s a Kiki ring, the designer confirmed that kate came into the shop and bought it for herself. When everyone noticed it it was rumored to have been a push present from William but that rumor was proven to be false.

      • K2 says:

        That actually makes me feel kind of sad for her. Eternity rings have a fairly specific meaning. She shouldn’t have to buy her own.

      • Aurelia says:

        Gad ma midds prolly gave her the cash to pay for it after willlie said it was a waste of money.

  20. perplexed says:

    A lot of famous people wear rings and they still wind up cheating anyway, so it’s hard to get excited about Harry wearing a ring. (I’m not implying in any way that Harry will cheat. I’m just saying that I don’t think wearing a ring winds up being a long-term indicator of fidelity in a general sense, and therefore it’s hard for me to find Harry wearing a ring to be a remarkable thing. The actual remarkable thing about a famous person’s marriage is if their marriage can go the distance with fidelity being followed).

    Maybe Ben Affleck has jaded me.

  21. Kloops says:

    The speculation around wedding rings is so silly. Many married men wear one, many don’t. Depending on one’s culture (or subculture) it is not uncommon at all to not wear one. Or they may wear a ring on a different finger or hand. Or it may be personal preference and they choose not to wear one. It’s strange to me that people seem to think MM would insist on it. She may have a preference but I can’t imagine she’d care if he decided to go another route. It makes women appear insecure to suggest their spouse would be viewed as single or available if he wasn’t wearing one and this is a concern they entertain.

  22. Berry says:

    It’s not surprising that Harry would wear a wedding ring because he seems to really like wearing jewelry.

  23. Shannon says:

    I think it’s nice that they made their own choices. I mean, either one could cheat (I hope not!) but if they do, it won’t be because they lied and said they weren’t married. When you’re that famous it seems like it would come down to more of just a preference for jewelry.

  24. Meh says:

    I think wedding rings are pretty modern in the UK. My husband wears one, because I was damned if I was willing to otherwise, but my grandfather didn’t.

    My father in law wore the same one for both his marriages. I think that’s kind of weird, given his first wife cheated and left him for the other man, but I suppose it’s economical!

    • Tessy says:

      That’s very weird, wearing the same ring for both marriages. You’d think the second wife might have some objections to that.

      I don’t wear a wedding ring because I have sensitive skin and get a rash under it. It’s not so bad now that I make my own soaps and lotions but I used to work in the medical field and the harsh chemical soaps played havoc with my hands.

  25. Dana says:

    Prince Andrew got a wedding ring it was put on his pinky. If you look at the ring part of his wedding you will see Fergie very quickly putting it on his pinky finger. I always thought it had to do with the church. Also the welsh gold was getting very small which was another reason given. As with all things Meghan it is something others have done well before she came onto the scene. The Duchess of Wessex Sophie wears a lot of pants doing royal engagements in fact she even did that on her engagement. Although Meghan has managed to look very casual and very messy in her few official engagements. Needs to do something with that hair and those boring clothes.

    • Mel G. says:

      Wow. Casual and messy and bad hair. Meghan style is her own and it’s a nice change. Her hair is fine.

      • Peg says:

        Funny her messy and bad hair, is turning into the top question on Internet, how to get Meghan hairstyle.
        Next will it be her boring clothes, LOL.

  26. Luisa says:

    “Some say it was a shady choice, in general.”

    LOL, “some” huh? We all know who thinks it’s shady, because that person has brought it up several times. We’ve even had the discussion where multiple people point out how William is one of the most recognisable people in the world who everyone knows is married, plus multiple examples of people discussing their and their spouses’ lack of rings.

    Deja vu

  27. V says:

    I never understood the whole “ring as a symbol of stay away from my man” When I see my DH ring on his finger, I get a squishy fluttery feeling because it reminds me of his words and commitment to our marriage. If he decided not to wear one, I wouldnt be worried its because he was going to cheat.