On February 3, 1981, Prince Charles proposed to Lady Diana Spencer with a 12-carat, oval-cut Ceylon blue sapphire. Surrounded by 14 diamonds and set in 18-carat white gold, the famous ring was estimated to be worth $600,000 when the royal originally purchased it. When Charles asked for Diana’s hand in marriage at Windsor Castle, the pair had been together for less than a year. Whether due to the timing or the proposal itself, it appears that Diana didn’t believe Charles was serious about an engagement, assuming it was all a joke.
In his biography, Diana: Her True Story—In Her Own Words, author Andrew Morton wrote that the prince didn’t get down on one knee when he asked Diana to marry him. Instead, the royal was frank with his words: “[Charles] said, ‘Will you marry me?’ and I laughed,” Diana told Morton. “I remember thinking, ‘This is a joke,’ and I said, ‘Yeah, OK,’ and laughed. He was deadly serious.” However, even though the soon-to-be princess thought her partner wasn’t truly asking for her hand in marriage, she quickly pivoted when she realized he wasn’t kidding. Yet Charles didn’t seem to share her excitement over their future plans, even though he was the one initiating the engagement. “I said, ‘I love you so much, I love you so much,'” she told Morton. ‘”And he said, ‘Whatever love means.’ Said it then. So I thought that was great, I thought he meant that. In my immaturity, which was enormous, I thought that he was very much in love with me, which he was. He sort of had the besotted look about him looking back at it, but it wasn’t the genuine sort.”
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The duo announced their engagement to the public on February 24, 1981, and officially tied the knot just a few months later, on July 29, 1981. In addition to her sapphire ring, Diana wore a silk-and-taffeta gown designed by David and Elizabeth Emanuel, which featured puff sleeves, a ruffled neckline, and approximately 10,000 pearls. The ceremony was broadcast in 74 countries—and watched by an estimated 750 million people. However, just a few years after becoming husband and wife, the couple’s relationship began to deteriorate. In 1986, Charles began having an affair with Camilla Parker Bowles, and he and Diana reportedly began living separate lives. Diana eventually confronted Parker Bowles about her relationship with Charles in 1989: “I know what’s going on between you and Charles, and I just want you to know that,” she told her.
Over the course of the next few years, Charles and Diana continued to live separately. On December 10, 1992, the pair officially announced their separation, which spurred a statement from Prime Minister John Major. “This decision has been reached amicably and they will both continue to participate fully in the upbringing of their children,” the politician told the British public. In 1996, the duo finalized their divorce.