Queen Elizabeth II’s engagement ring from Prince Philip was worthy of her royal status. Not only did the 3-carat sparkler captivate everyone who saw it, but the beautiful jewel also bore a special connection to the late Duke of Edinburgh’s family history.

Philip proposed to the future queen in the summer of 1946, after obtaining a blessing from her father, King George VI. A letter from the smitten prince to his future mother-in-law, Queen Elizabeth, suggests the depth of his feelings for the then-princess. “To have been spared in the war and seen victory, to have been given the chance to rest and to re-adjust myself, to have fallen in love completely and unreservedly, makes all one’s personal and even the world’s troubles seem small and petty,” he wrote.

The happy couple announced their engagement in July 1947, per the royal family’s official website, and wed in November of that year. Her and Philip’s nuptials were held at London’s Westminster Abbey, with many of Elizabeth’s royal relatives serving as bridesmaids—and millions of dollars worth of wedding gifts being exchanged, as Brides reported.

It’s unclear who, if anyone, inherited the diamond engagement ring after the Queen’s death on September 8, 2022. (Philip had predeceased his wife, passing away in April 2021). Brides noted that, as the ring was not part of the crown jewels, there is no clear protocol for who would receive it upon the monarch’s passing. The outlet also suggested it could be held for one of the Queen’s great-grandchildren, such as Princess Charlotte, to have when they wed one day.

Regardless of its current whereabouts, the ring will always be an iconic part of royal history—and a beautiful symbol of a marriage that lasted for nearly 75 years. Here’s everything to know about Queen Elizabeth II’s engagement ring from Prince Philip.

The ring has a 3-carat diamond set in a pavé platinum band.

Queen Elizabeth II’s engagement ring featured a 3-carat diamond solitaire set on a pavé platinum band. The 10 pavé diamonds, five on either of the band’s shoulders, lent extra luster to the already beautiful piece. Per the official royal family website, the jeweller Philip Antrobus of Bond Street was behind the ring. Pragnell, the jeweller that acquired Philip Antrobus Ltd, further reports that the Queen’s engagement ring had a round brilliant-cut stone at its center.

It uses diamonds from Philip’s mother’s tiara.

Like many pieces of royal jewelry, the late Queen’s engagement ring represents decades of royal history. When Prince Philip decided to propose, his mother, Princess Alice of Battenberg, gave him the antique diamond-and-aquamarine tiara she’d received on her wedding day so he could use it to create jewelry worthy of a future queen. Town and Country reported in 2017 that the tiara was a gift to Princess Alice on her own wedding day, bestowed by her maternal aunt, Tsarina Alexandra of Russia (wife of Tsar Nicholas II).

Not only were the tiara’s diamonds hewn into the 11 stones on Elizabeth II’s engagement ring, but they were also used to create the stunning Edinburgh wedding bracelet Philip gave his bride-to-be ahead of their ceremony.

It’s worth an estimated $250,000 today.

According to WWD, Queen Elizabeth II’s engagement ring has an estimated worth of $250,000, making it one of the least expensive royal sparklers in recent history. For comparison, Kate Middleton’s heirloom proposal piece from Prince William (which was formerly Diana, Princess of Wales’ engagement ring) is worth an estimated $500,000 today. Meghan Markle’s 3.8-carat ring similarly has an estimated retail cost of between $300,000 and $350,000.

The couple kept their engagement a secret for a year.

Although Philip proposed to Elizabeth in 1946, the world did not learn of their engagement until the following year. This was at the request of King George VI, who only consented to their engagement on the condition that they wait to announce the news until Elizabeth was 21 years old, per Time magazine.

The would-be queen had known her husband since she was 13, and him 18. They began a correspondence that bloomed into a romance over the years, Time reported, with Elizabeth’s grandmother once writing of the 17-year-old princess and Philip that they’d “been in love for the past eighteen months. In fact longer, I think.”

Once the intendeds did tie the knot, their love deepened into a lifetime of devotion and admiration. At the lunch celebrating their golden wedding anniversary in 1997, the Queen said of Philip, “He is someone who doesn’t take easily to compliments. He has, quite simply, been my strength and stay all these years, and I, and his whole family, and this and many other countries, owe him a debt greater than he would ever claim or we shall ever know.”

The Queen had a Welsh gold wedding band like other royals before and after her.

Queen Elizabeth II, Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother, and several princesses who wed after her majesty wore wedding rings made from the same nugget of Welsh gold, the royal family’s official website details.

This original nugget is now reduced to a sliver, residing in the Privy Purse Office. However, royal weddings may still follow the tradition—the royal family’s website explains that Elizabeth received a 36-gram piece of 21-carat Welsh gold in 1981, which the crown jewellers can use to craft new bands today.

In 2020, royal biographer Ingrid Seward claimed that the queen’s wedding ring contained a secret inscription from Prince Philip which only herself, her husband, and the ring’s engraver knew, per People. It’s widely believed that Elizabeth II was buried with her wedding ring; as such, the mystery of the inscription remains a secret for the lifetime loves to share.