For nearly 100 years Wales has played a leading role in royal marriages, providing the precious metal from which royal nuptial rings are forged. Welsh gold is a precious commodity, being the rarest and most expensive in the world. The tradition of using this precious metal to make royal wedding rings started back in the early 1920s.
In 1923, a nugget of pure gold from the Clogau St David’s mine in North Wales was presented to the royal family as a gift.
Artisans then crafted the gold into a wedding ring for the late Queen Mother, when she married the future King George VI.
The nugget was subsequently used in fashioning the wedding bands for Queen Elizabeth, Princess Margaret, Princess Anne and Princess Diana.
Over the years more Welsh gold entered the possession of the British monarchy and was used in producing more wedding rings for royal marriages.
The Royal British Region presented Queen Elizabeth II with 36kg of pure Welsh gold in the 1980s.
This batch went into making rings for the Duchess of York and it is also thought for Sophie, Countess of Wessex.
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“The gold was given to Prince William by the queen shortly after the couple were engaged.
“It has been in the family’s possession for some years and has been in the care of the royal jewellers.
“There are no further details on which mine the gold was mined from.”
