An expert take on Harry and Meghan's unexpected jewellery dramas in Finding Freedom
Anyone who hoped that the new biography of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex would be an exhaustive account of flung tiaras, diamond dramas and Meghan and Kate screaming over one of the Queen’s brooches, stop reading now. Finding Freedom - Harry And Meghan and the Making of a Modern Royal Family is not written for jewellery fans by any means, but I have diligently sped-read the entire thing to deliver to you, dear readers, every jewellery-related nugget within. You’re welcome.
Let’s do this in chronological order, shall we? December 3, 2016, shortly after the issuing of Prince Harry’s statement asking the press to stop harassing his girlfriend, Meghan is seen sporting a new necklace by Maya Brenner bearing the initials ‘M’ and ‘H’ valued at $300 (hey, this stuff is important when there’s so little jewellery-related information to nourish us.) According to the authors, a Kensington Palace aide made a phone call to Meghan days later to advise her that the wearing of said necklace would only encourage the paparazzi. Naughty, naughty, paparazzi-baiting Meghan with her flagrant love-declaring jewellery choices.
Summer of 2017, the young couple spent a secret five night stay in Bodrum, Turkey, where Meghan noticed some Kismet by Milka jewellery in a store. The owner locked the store down for them to peruse in peace, and upon leaving, Meghan informed Harry she wanted to go back because she liked a couple of things. HINT, HINT. Harry dutifully took the bait, and went back the next day to purchase two pieces. Finding Freedom’s authors reveal that “He said, ‘I would like to surprise her,’ and picked out the items,” the designer Milka Karaagacli said about the Hamsa ring and yellow gold seed dots bracelet.” Is that not precious?
According to the authors, that summer was when Harry had started telling his inner circle that he was planning on proposing to Meghan (which is what you do when you’re a prince and you don’t want anyone to know what the entire world is dying to know, apparently) and was already working on a ring. While in Botswana as patron of Rhino Conservation Botswana that May, Harry and a close friend found ‘the perfect conflict-free stone.’
The engagement ring itself is hardly new news. The authors describe it as a ‘two-and-a-half-carat cushion-cut conflict-free diamond from Botswana flanked by two roughly three-quarter-carat diamonds from Diana’s collection.” But the revelation that Meghan told a friend “Just the level of thought that went into it, I can’t get over that” is fresh fodder. Which we will all quickly forget.
Shortly after the official engagement announcement, Meghan received an invitation to the Queen’s pre-Christmas lunch at Buckingham Palace, but a jewellery-related faux-pas committed by Princess Michael of Kent nearly ruined it.
That much-publicised and apparently cringe-inducing incident was the wearing of a blackamoor brooch which Princess Michael later apologized for, but “in the back of Meghan’s mind” (a place the authors apparently have access to) “she wondered if there wasn’t a message being sent in the pin of the torso of an African man wearing a gold turban and ornate clothing.” (And here, the authors could have perhaps done a little more research…the brooch is a typical example of a Venetian Moretto brooch which usually depict the princely trading partners who brought spices and textiles to Venice from the Middle East, not Africa. Anyway.)
Jewellery fodder peters out around about this point. June 14, 2018, the newly married Duchess of Sussex accompanied the Queen on the Royal Train to Chester for an ‘away day.’ Before the end of the train trip, the authors report that ‘the Queen gifted Meghan with a delicate pair of pearl-and-diamond earrings’ (their use of hyphens, not mine.)
Meghan regularly wears a pair of feather-engraved gold stud earrings by Boh Runga gifted to her by the Prime Minister of New Zealand, Jacinda Ardern. Meghan can’t wear her engagement ring in the final seven weeks of her pregnancy because it no longer fits. Meghan chose a gold and turquoise Jennifer Meyer necklace for Archie’s debut. (Why the authors didn’t dine out on the symbolism of turquoise at this point beats me. It’s like they don’t even care about jewellery! Turquoise is one of the first gemstones to be mined and is associated with kings and shamans, and said to have protective and healing properties.)
The infamous front page story that ran in The Sun in April 2019 reporting that the Queen had banned Meghan from wearing any jewellery of Diana’s gets rehashed, as does the same newspaper’s story on Meghan demanding a different tiara than the one picked out by the Queen, which the authors confirm is “not true”.
And from here, the juiciest jewellery story resides. The authors reveal that pre-wedding, Angela Kelly, Personal Assistant, Advisor, and Curator to Her Majesty the Queen (Jewellery, Insignias, and Wardrobe) presented five tiaras to the Queen and Meghan (with Harry looking on) in a secure vault 40 feet below Buckingham Palace. ‘Although the Queen was a great conversationalist, as was Meghan, who became particularly talkative when she was nervous, everyone was quiet as they focused on the task at hand’, the authors write.
And she did not wear gloves which are normally worn when handling tiaras. I think we all know what this means. Don’t we? (Don’t we? Do we? Can someone enlighten me?) The selection of five was whittled down to Queen Mary’s diamond bandeau tiara. A proper fitting with a hairstylist wasn’t done at this point, as it would have “detracted from the intimacy of the personal moment.” But ‘there was plenty of time later to do a full hair trial, Angela explained, which included trying different ways to hold the tiara with pins and making Meghan nod her head to see if it moved’.
And here, the plot thickens. Late March, and Meghan’s hairstylist Serge Normant has flown from New York explicitly to do a hair trial with the chosen tiara, which would have been handled by Angela. ‘Except no matter how many requests were sent by Kensington Palace, the Queen’s personal dresser didn’t respond. After several failed attempts, Angela’s availability remained unknown. Harry was furious.’ The authors report that Harry thought his fiancé was being purposefully ignored by Angela, and ‘what followed between the prince and Angela was a heated exchange that was far from the typical restraint expected.’
It is then made out to seem as if Kensington Palace staff were all playing Find Angela. ‘With the wedding just a few weeks away, the lack of tiara hair trial continued to be an issue of contention. Members of staff at Kensington Palace just weren’t able to get in touch with Angela to make it happen. People were frustrated – and confused. Why was it so hard to set up a time for Meghan to try the tiara with her hairdresser?’
So Harry had to go to the top and speak to the Queen and Meghan ‘got her trial.’ The chapter ends with a source ‘close to the prince’ saying that nothing could convince Harry that some of the old guard at the Palace simply didn’t like Meghan and would stop at nothing to make her life difficult.’ The authors genuinely seem to imply that tiara gate was the beginning of the end.
(Personally, I think the clue to why this is all nonsensical is in Angela Kelly’s job title. Being Personal Assistant, Advisor, and Curator to Her Majesty the Queen (Jewellery, Insignias, and Wardrobe) must be one of the most time consuming roles ever, and carving time out away from assisting and dressing the Queen must be near impossible.)
After this, there’s little for us to sink our teeth into. On their first wedding anniversary, Harry gifts Meghan with a ring by Lorraine Schwartz – a diamond eternity band with Meghan, Archie, and Harry’s birthstones of peridot, emerald, and sapphire on the underside. Schwartz shared that “Harry wanted to make it special. He’s the loveliest person ever. So romantic, so thoughtful” (and so incredibly good for business, one might assume….) Harry also had Lorraine ‘resize and reset Meghan’s engagement ring with a new diamond band.’ UPGRADE!
I’m sorry to say, that’s it. I won the speed-reading competition aged 11 at Fendalton Primary School in Christchurch, New Zealand, so I’m pretty sure I haven’t missed a single jewellery-related moment in the entire book. Finding Freedom will not, after all, be making it onto my favourite jewellery books of 2020.
Read more:
Why Meghan’s gold pendant necklaces strike the perfect note while working from home
Prince Harry chooses platinum wedding band while Meghan's ring is fashioned from Welsh gold
Sign up for the Telegraph Luxury newsletter for your weekly dose of exquisite taste and expert opinion.
