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Prince William Doesn’t Wear a Wedding Ring — Find out Why!

Have you ever noticed this about Prince William? Eagle-eyed royal fans have recently pointed out that the 35-year-old Duke of Cambridge interestingly doesn’t wear a wedding ring. Fortunately, it seems that William’s choice to not wear a wedding band doesn’t have anything to do with a lack of love for his stunning wife, Kate Middleton. It actually just came down to “personal preference.”

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Kate and William in March 2015. (Photo Credit: Getty Images)

“It was something the couple discussed but Prince William isn’t one for jewelry,” a Kensington Palace spokesperson once revealed. “He doesn’t even wear a signet ring — and decided he didn’t want to.” In October 2010, William proposed to Kate, 36, during a romantic getaway to Kenya. At the time, he presented her with his late mother Princess Diana‘s iconic sapphire and diamond engagement ring.

Just more than a year later, William and Kate tied the knot in a lavish royal wedding at London’s Westminster Abbey in April 2011. During the ceremony, the prince gave his bride a simple, gold wedding band to wear with her nearly $400,000 engagement ring — but Kate did not give her hubby a ring. According to Brides magazine, women have been donning wedding rings since Egyptian times, but men only adopted the tradition during World War II as a reminder of their family back at home.

prince william wedding ring getty images

Kate and William at the April 2011 royal wedding. (Photo Credit: Getty Images)

Interestingly, male members of the British royal family have never fully embraced the tradition of wearing wedding rings. In fact, Prince Charles is known today as one of the only men in the monarchy who regularly don a band on his left ring finger. “It is not unusual at all for men from the upper sets in Britain to shun wearing a wedding band,” etiquette expert William Hanson recently told Brides. “This is not because of any intentions that they may wish to play away from home once married, but because it was traditionally not the done thing for gentleman to wear jewelry.”

“Years ago, this even included watches, but even hardened snobs have relaxed on that front. Not wearing a wedding band is one of those quirky British silent class indicators, like the color of your shoes on a Thursday or the way you fold your top pocket handkerchief,” Hanson continued.

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