“THE RING IS GONE… AND SO IS THE CALM.” Meghan Markle has been seen without her engagement ring for weeks — officially “being altered again” — but insiders say the real story may be far more explosive, with tensions between her and Prince Harry reportedly reaching a boiling point. Behind closed doors, whispers of a heated argument have surfaced, with one source claiming voices were raised during a recent clash. “You don’t understand what this is costing me!” Meghan is alleged to have snapped — only for Harry to fire back: “And you don’t see what it’s doing to us!” Another insider didn’t hold back: “That wasn’t a disagreement — that was a breaking point.” Now, with the ring missing and silence from both sides, the narrative is spiraling. “You don’t remove the symbol unless something underneath is already cracking,” one critic said coldly. No statement. No denial. Just absence — and a marriage now under a spotlight where every missing piece feels like a warning sign.
As the Duchess of Sussex beamed and hugged her best friend Kelly Zajfen at a charity bash in LA last night, missing from her finger were her dazzling diamond engagement ring and eternity band.
It’s not the first time Meghan Markle, 44, has pared back her stack in recent weeks, wearing instead just her simple, golden wedding ring. She opted for the minimal look throughout her trip to Jordan earlier this year, along with other appearances.
The last clear glimpse of her engagement ring was in February, when she and Prince Harry attended an NBA All-Star Game at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California.
And it’s possible that a new iteration is on the way – as the Duke’s wife is believed to have had it altered three times since 2017. The Daily Mail has reached out to the Sussexes for comment.
Harry proposed to Meghan nine years ago – enlisting the late Queen Elizabeth’s regular jeweller, Cleave & Company, to design a unique jewel for his bride-to-be.
The prince had even snuck a ring from Meghan’s jewellery box so that the designers knew her size and, in a particularly touching tribute to his late mother, asked them to ‘harvest’ the diamonds from one of Diana’s bracelets.
Writing in his tell-all memoir Spare, the Duke, 41, recalled how he had ‘cleared all this in advance’ with William, adding: ‘I’d asked my brother if I could have the bracelet, and told him what it was for.
‘I don’t recall him hesitating, for one second, in giving it to me. He seemed to like Meg.’
Harry also picked a blood-free diamond from Botswana, the African country where he and Meghan fell in love on their third date, for the engagement ring.
That year, in the gardens of Kensington Palace’s Nottingham Cottage, Harry got down on one knee and asked Meghan to marry him with the glittering ring comprising a solid yellow gold band with three diamonds.
Since then, it is believed the ring has already had four iterations.
The last clear glimpse of her engagement ring was in February, when she and Prince Harry attended an NBA All-Star Game at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, California
As the Duchess of Sussex beamed and hugged her best friend Kelly Zajfen at a charity bash in LA last night, missing from her finger were her dazzling diamond engagement ring and eternity band – as she instead opted for a simple, golden wedding ring
It’s not the first time Meghan Markle, 44, has pared back her stack in recent weeks, opting for the minimal look throughout the duration of her trip to Jordan earlier this year (pictured), along with other appearances
At Trooping the Colour in June 2019, Meghan was spotted wearing the ring with a thinner band than its original design.
She also had little diamonds set down the sides of the ring, worth around £126,000 ($150,000) when Harry had it made, in what jewellery expert Arabel Lebrusan suggested was a more American style.
At the time, she also debuted a new eternity ring that was adorned with conflict-free diamonds as well as three birthstones – one each for the couple and their then newborn son Archie.
In his book Finding Freedom, royal expert Omid Scobie noted the decision to resize and reset the engagement ring with a new diamond band in 2019 was Harry’s idea.
In the biography, jeweller-to-the-stars Lorraine Schwartz reportedly said of the prince: ‘He’s the loveliest person ever. So romantic, so thoughtful.’
The authors continued: ‘(So much so that Harry also thought to have Lorraine resize and reset Meghan’s engagement ring with a new diamond band.)’
In 2022 there was further speculation that Meghan altered the ring for a second time when she attended the Invictus Games in The Hague, and it appeared that she had added additional diamonds to the setting surrounding the central diamond.
Prince Harry enlisted the help of the late Queen Elizabeth’s regular jeweller to design a £126,000 ring for Meghan (Both pictured in 2017, with the first version of the ring)
At Trooping the Colour in June 2019, Meghan was spotted wearing the ring with a thinner band than its original design
When Meghan attended the Invictus Games at The Hague in 2022, it appeared the diamond-encrusted ring had been modified again
In 2025, eagle-eyed royal fans noted that the ring’s central diamond looked more like an emerald cut than the original cushion cut when seen in a trailer for Meghan’s Netflix series
The ring was notably absent during several of Meghan’s appearances in 2023, when a loose stone was reportedly being repaired – in what some believed was a third alteration.
In 2025, eagle-eyed royal fans noted that the ring’s central diamond looked more like an emerald cut than the original cushion cut when it was seen in a trailer for Meghan’s Netflix series.
While some suggested it had been the latest, four iteration of the ring, others speculated it may have been a replica of her original to avoid any possible damage to it while cooking.
The couple said ‘I do’ during a fairytale ceremony at St George’s Chapel in Windsor on May 19, 2018.