Meghan Markle wears her £140,000 engagement ring for the first time in nine months after it was 'serviced because a setting came loose'

Meghan Markle made a dazzling appearance at British Columbia's Whistler ski resort yesterday, thanks to the return of her £140,000 engagement ring.

The Duchess has not been seen publicly with the glittering band, consisting of one huge Botswana diamond and two out Princess Diana's collection since May 2023.

Her ring was noticeably absent from recent events, such as the premiere of Bob Marley biopic One Love last month in Kingston, Jamaica, and her presence at Variety's Power of Women gala in November 2023.

According to People magazine The reason behind the long interruption of the ring is that a setting has come loose and needs to be maintained.

Prince Harry proposed to Meghan in November 2017, with the ring consisting of a solid yellow gold band set with three diamonds, but Meghan has since made several adjustments to the design.

When she hit the slopes with Prince Harry (plus their cameraman) and walked around on skis, the Duchess's dazzling diamond complemented a chic winter outfit.

She wore a $295 Calvin Klein cream quilted coat on top of a $695 cashmere sweater from CO.

To ensure her feet were toasty in the frigid Whistler temperatures, the Duchess wore a pair of furry boots from Sorel – quirkily dubbed the Joan of Arctic design.

However, the Duchess's beautiful stone was the star of the outfit, and instead of covering her hands with a pair of heavy-duty gloves, she proudly displayed the ring on her finger.

It's the first time Meghan, the mother-of-two, has worn the band for nine months amid reports she had the band repaired.

Instead, she's been spotted with several subtle yet chic rings on her finger — like when she had lunch in California with her friends Cleo Wade and Kadi Lee. It is believed to be her wedding ring and an eternity ring.

At the Invictus Games in Germany last September, the Duchess was still without an engagement ring, but she compensated for her absence with a pinky ring from Shiffon and Co. on her little finger.

In May, the Duchess was spotted walking without her husband Prince Harry near their $14 million Montecito mansion, hours after missing King Charles' coronation.

Meghan was joined by her friends, Markus Anderson and Heather Dorak, in California for the fresh air outing after celebrating her son Archie's birthday.

However, she did not wear her glittering diamond ring for the occasion.

Later that month, the jewelry went missing for a second time when she arrived at the Ms Foundation for Women's 50th anniversary event at the Ziegfeld Ballroom in Manhattan.

At the event, Meghan simply wore her wedding ring, which was yellow gold to match Prince Harry's, and an eternity ring, which she started wearing after her son Archie was born. It is not known why the ring disappeared.

The tennis pinky ring, which is 18 carats and set in white gold, retails for $2,800.

At the time of their engagement, the Duke spoke about creating Meghan's ring with the help of jewelers Cleave and Company.

The custom design featured a diamond originally from Botswana (where the couple took a trip for their second date) and two smaller stones from Princess Diana's collection.

He said at the time: 'The ring is clearly yellow gold, because it is [Meghan’s] favorite and the main stone itself I got from Botswana and the little diamonds on either side are from my mother's jewelry collection, to make sure she comes with us on this crazy journey together.'

Meghan called it “incredible” and explained: “Everything about Harry's thoughtfulness and the inclusion of [Princess Diana’s stones] And because I obviously can't meet his mother, it's so important for me to know that she's a part of this with us.”

'It is very special to have this [ring], what kind of links where you come from and Botswana, which is important to us. It's perfect.'

However, the Duchess chose not to wear her engagement ring during a number of public engagements in 2019 while she was pregnant with her son Archie.

When she appeared at Trooping the Color that year, it emerged that Meghan had altered the custom engagement ring that Prince Harry had designed for her.

At Trooping the Color and at her photo call at Windsor Castle with Prince Harry and newborn son Archie, the Duchess wore her three engagement diamonds set on a thin micro-pavé band.

Jewelry expert Arabel Lebrusan confirmed that the ring had been altered and suggested that it had been altered to make the original diamonds appear larger.

Arabel, owner of ethical jewelery brand Arabel Lebrusan, called the thinner band a popular trend, revealing: 'Many celebrities do this as the center stone looks bigger compared to the wow factor.'

Pointing out the difference in the band, the jewelry expert said: 'She now has small diamonds on the sides of her engagement ring and the band also seems thinner than before.'

She also revealed that the glittering band only highlighted Meghan's diamonds, adding: 'The diamond setting on the band looks micro-set, this means there is very little metal between the stones, which reduces the sparkle of the little diamonds is maximized.'

Arabel went on to say that she felt the new style suited the Duchess's style “perfectly”, saying: “It suits her style perfectly, and it suits her dainty fingers too.”

Leora Moreno, owner of jewelry brand Leo With Love, said at the time that the changes could have been adjusted to match Meghan's eternity ring.

She explained, “It looks like the eternity ring has a channel pavé setting. The engagement ring appears to have an even smaller pavé setting, but matches the eternity band perfectly.'

The jeweler went on to explain that the change may have been complex, saying it took “fine skill and craftsmanship to change the band to something more delicate like a pavé setting.”

She added that the modern style would suit Meghan “for years to come” and was “the perfect combination of bold and graceful.”

In 2022's Finding Freedom, Omid Scobie claimed it was the Duke who altered Meghan's ring.

In the biography, jeweler to the stars Lorraine Schwartz said: “He is the most beautiful person ever. So romantic, so thoughtful.”

The authors continued, “(So much so that Harry also considered having Lorraine resized and Meghan's engagement ring reset with a new diamond band.)”