Jewellers who created Meghan Markle engagement ring 'not going to make replicas'

Royal fans desperate for a replica of Meghan Markle's engagement ring have been told by the jewellers who created the piece they will not be making copies.

Romantic Prince Harry designed his fiancee's ring using diamonds which belonged to his mother Diana, Princess of Wales.

The two outside stones came from the late princess's personal collection and are a poignant tribute to Diana in the year of the 20th anniversary of her death.

At the centre of the ring is a large diamond from Botswana, a country that holds special significance for Harry who has visited many times since he was a child.

But Stephen Connelly, director of Cleave and Company Court Jewellers and Medallists to Her Majesty The Queen, who were commissioned to make the ring, said the intense media attention has been "a bit of a shock".

He added: "We're not going to be making replicas of it. If you want a ring, then we'll design you a different one."

David Thomas, a former Crown Jeweller who looked after the royal family's jewels and now works with Cleave and Company, said working on the ring was the "biggest and hardest secret" he's had to keep in his life.

He said he has been bombarded by questions from the press - including how much the ring had cost - but declined to violate the royal couple's privacy.

"Jewellers are like doctors: we never discuss our patients," Mr Thomas said.

Harry is not the only royal to design his bride-to-be's engagement ring using jewels that belonged to his mother.

The Duke of Edinburgh designed an engagement ring for the Queen, then Princess Elizabeth, in 1947.

The Duke had the ring made by the jewellers Philip Antrobus Ltd, using diamonds from a tiara belonging to his mother, Princess Alice of Greece.

When Prince William proposed to Kate Middleton, now the Duchess of Cambridge, he gave her Diana's famous sapphire and diamond engagement ring.