We all know about Diana’s sapphire engagement ring – which is now owned by Kate Middleton – but what about her signet ring bearing the crest of the Prince of Wales, and the Duchess of Cornwall’s ‘farewell gift’ bracelet?
Prince Charles and Princess Diana’s marriage – and all its trials and tribulations – is one of the core plot lines of season four of Netflix’s hit show The Crown, as those who have been bingeing it will know. And with the prince’s courtship of his spouse and mistress come gifts of jewellery, of course. Whether it’s the bracelet Charles gave Camilla Parker-Bowles as a “farewell gift” or the signet ring Diana received, these jewellery-focused scenes in the show raised as many questions as they did eyebrows. So what do we actually know about these famed bits of bling?
What was the deal with Camilla’s bracelet?
Did Prince Charles commission and give Parker-Bowles a bracelet days before marrying Diana? That’s what we’re led to believe according to episode three.
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The gift marked a doomed beginning for Charles and Diana’s marriage. In the show, it was revealed Camilla, played by actress Emerald Fennell, received a bracelet engraved with the initials FG, which stood for Charles and Camilla’s nicknames Fred and Gladys. Actress Emma Corrin portrayed Diana to have reacted badly when she found out about the gift from her soon-to-be husband, played by Josh O’Connor.
Prince Charles reportedly gave Camilla Parker-Bowles and other women he courted jewellery days before his wedding to Princess Diana. Photo: AP
According to Penny Junor, a British journalist and biographer who covers the royal beat, the bracelet was in fact inscribed with the letters GF. Junor revealed to website HistoryExtra that Charles prepared parting gifts for a number of women he courted ahead of his wedding to Diana, not just Camilla. The gesture was a thank you to the women for their companionship.
The Crown season four shows Camilla Parker-Bowles, played by Emerald Fennell, meeting and having lunch with Diana, played by Emma Corrin. Photo: Netflix
Another theory, proposed by American historian and royal author Sally Bedell Smith, who penned the book Charles: The Misunderstood Prince, suggests the initials GF stands for “Girl Friday”, another nickname Charles had for Camilla.
