Prince William Never Wears a Wedding Ring—Here's Why

Prince William, Duke of Cambridge is seen pointing to something in the crowd on April 19, 2014 in Brisbane, Australia. — (Image credit: Getty Images)

Prince William is never seen wearing a wedding ring, which the most eagle-eyed of royal fans will already know.

But the Prince of Wales hasn't lost his wedding band, nor is he making any particular statement: He simply never owned one.

A month ahead of William's wedding to Kate Middleton, now Princess Kate, in 2011, the Palace announced that the prince would not be handed a ring during the exchanging of vows.

A royal insider claimed at the time (via the Mirror), "He’s not one for jewelry. He’s never worn any. He decided he didn’t want to wear one now. It’s all down to personal preference."

They added, "Catherine will wear a ring fashioned from a lump of Welsh gold owned by the Royal Family that has been smelted down. The couple have both had a hand in the design. This is the ring Prince Harry will carry and hand over in the traditional way."

By contrast, the Princess of Wales always wears her wedding ring, and sometimes also complements it with her iconic sapphire engagement ring, which she inherited from her late mother-in-law Princess Diana.

Back in 2018, royal commentator Eloise Parker shed some additional light on why William may have chosen not to wear a wedding ring.

"Although it's traditional for royal women to wear both an engagement ring and a wedding ring after they get married, it's never been traditional for royal men to wear one," Parker told Marie Claire. "That's why Prince Philip and Prince William don't wear them. I think when you have a wedding watched by millions, everyone knows you're married!"

This is an incredibly fair point.

Meanwhile, William's younger brother and erstwhile best man does wear a platinum wedding band to signal his marriage to Meghan Markle. To each his own!

The Duke &amp; Duchess Of Sussex Pose With Their Newborn Son

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Iris Goldsztajn is a London-based journalist, editor and author. She is the morning editor at Marie Claire, and her work has appeared in the likes of British Vogue, InStyle, Cosmopolitan, Refinery29 and SELF. Iris writes about everything from celebrity news and relationship advice to the pitfalls of diet culture and the joys of exercise. She has many opinions on Harry Styles, and can typically be found eating her body weight in cheap chocolate.