Jewellery of Male Royals

[m4816k]

What do they wear? I'm new to this forum and see in pictures that jewels are always worn by female royals, so except army medals and similar honors, do male royals wear any jewellery nowdays? I know they used to wear lots of jewels in the past, but can't see any on recent (20th century) pics.

 

[Madame Royale]

Not in Europe, but I think perhaps in some parts of Asia they may.

 

[rebbevb]

Yes thats sad that they dont i think they should wear a crown

 

[Warren]

The Sultan of Brunei and the King and Sultans of Malaysia wear jewelled headdress on ceremonial occasions.

 

[PrinceOfCanada]

Yes thats sad that they dont i think they should wear a crown

It would be singularly uncomfortable to wear a crown every day.

The basic reason that the royal men don't wear jewels while the women do is sociological: in the Western world women historically wear jewels and more richly ornamented clothing because women were seen as property of their husbands, and vehicles for displaying their husband's wealth. It's also, in a reversal of what happens in many other species, because women ornament themselves (again, we're talking historically, which is often grossly sexist) to attract mates. While it's true that men used to be just as ornamented as women (observe 18th century France, especially), that fell out of fashion. Or, rather, men became much more subtly ornamented, while women (and this is still very true today) are much more overt. For an interesting contrast, take a look at the gay and lesbian communities, where those stereotypical gender roles are often reversed.

 

[EarlOfDawleyMagna]

Does anybody know why Duke Of Cambridge Chose not to have a wedding ring?

It seems quite odd that he chose not to have one.

 

[Pranter]

Not really? My DH hasn't worn one in years due to the job (military)...he used to wear one when he was off work but after so long he just got out of the habit of it and it really doesn't bother me either. Due to the job I have now I can't wear one to work either. I generally only wear one for certain things.

LaRae

 

[luisianna]

I believe it's something of a family tradition. If I recall correctly, Prince Charles doesn't have a wedding ring either.

 

[EarlOfDawleyMagna]

I understand fully that there may be times such as at work where it's not practical to wear one but I just feel he could have had one for the ceremony at least. Oh well I guess he will be wearing enough rings when he is King

 

[NGalitzine]

Charles, Andrew, Edward all have wedding rings so it is not a tradition it is a personal preference.

 

[Roslyn]

I don't read any more into it than William didn't want to wear one. No biggie. Most men of my acquaintance don't. Not all women do, either, these days.

 

[GracieGiraffe]

Sometimes, when a man or woman chooses not to wear a wedding ring, it's to have someone else believe they are not married.... However, because you'd have to be living under a rock not to realize Will is married, that's not the case here.

So, my two cents is that I don't know why he doesn't wear one or really care.

 

[cepe]

Some people (either gender) don't wear rings because of their job - my husband never wears any jewellery at all and it goes back to his time in the Parachute regiment. In the UK it is only in very recent years that men have had wedding rings. None of my family had them.

If you dont wear jewellery (and William doesnt, unlike Harry) and you are a pilot as well, it just makes sense.

No reason at all to look for some sub-text. ITs about personal choice

 

[Grandma828]

It is a cinch that William is not trying to hide the fact that he is married.

 

[EarlOfDawleyMagna]

I don't think he's trying to hide the fact he's married I just think why not just have one anyway? As surely it was more hassle to have to make a public announcement to say he wasn't going to have one.

 

[Lumutqueen]

He's got one from what I heard, he just doesn't wear it. Personally I don't get it but it's a military thing apparently. There was no public announcement, it was done through the press apparently.

 

[Pranter]

Well when on duty he probably is prohibited from wearing it for safety reasons.

I don't think he wears any rings...some people just don't like them.

LaRae

 

[cepe]

I don't think he's trying to hide the fact he's married I just think why not just have one anyway? As surely it was more hassle to have to make a public announcement to say he wasn't going to have one.

It would have been worse to have had a ring at the wedding ceremony and then not worn it. That would have caused all sorts of waves. He said he wasn't, he hasn't and thats ok.

 

[Roslyn]

I really don't know why anyone cares. It's a non-issue, IMO. He doesn't have a wedding ring; so what?

 

[Anna Catherine]

In America, most men (or at least a lot I come into contact with) do. So it confused me too when I first found out he didn't want one. Just honest...

 

[Roslyn]

In Australia, most men (or at least the men I come into contact with) don't. I think it's a generational thing though. It seems younger men are more likely to than older men, though I confess I don't make a habit of looking at a man's hand to see if he's wearing a wedding ring. I just don't care. I suppose I would if I was in the market for a man, but I'm not. But if I was, and I wasn't sure of a person's marital status, there are fairly easy ways to find out before you make a fool of yourself by putting on a mating display.

I got married in the early 80s. My husband was adamant that he was not going to wear a ring, so I said I wouldn't either because I wasn't going to wear a symbol indicating that I was tethered to another if he wasn't, and I haven't, and I've never regretted it. At the time I was - and remain - very committed to the idea of equality between the sexes and avoiding gender stereotypes. I've never used his name, either, and always use "Ms". I'm sure other people think it's strange, but I really don't care.

Wearing a ring on your finger doesn't mean you any more committed to your partner. If someone puts an unwelcome move on you, all it takes to let them know you are not available is to tell them.

 

[EIIR]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but don't senior royal men who wear a wedding ring, wear it on their left hand little finger beside their signet ring? Charles certainly does.

William doesn't wear a signet ring and really strikes me as a non-jewellery kind of guy.

As an aside, David Cameron doesn't wear a wedding ring, nor does Tony Blair or Gordon Brown. It seems to be more common in the upper classes for men not to wear a wedding ring. Here's some discussion of the issue:

David Cameron doesn't wear a wedding ring. Why should he? - Telegraph

 

[Lumutqueen]

Seeing as most royal men where the ring on the right finger, as well as I'm guessing most of the upper classes. Your theory of 4 men, 5 if you include William doesn't suit.

 

[Roslyn]

David Cameron doesn't wear a wedding ring. Why should he? - Telegraph

"We should judge people by what they do, not by the state of their fingers."

Great article!

 

[EIIR]

Seeing as most royal men where the ring on the right finger, as well as I'm guessing most of the upper classes. Your theory of 4 men, 5 if you include William doesn't suit.

Most royal men do not wear their signet rings on their right hand.

Prince Philip with signet ring, and wedding ring, on his left hand.

Prince Edward with signet ring on his left hand.

Duke of York with signet ring on his left hand. He wore his wedding ring on the same finger but I can't find a big enough image of it.

Prince Michael of Kent with signet ring on his left hand. He chooses to wear what I presume is his wedding ring on his fourth finger.

George VI with signet ring on left hand.

Duke of Windsor with signet ring and wedding ring on left little finger.

As a rule, signet rings are worn on the wearer's non-leading hand - i.e a right-handed person wears it on their left hand and vice versa.

Some of the royal men choose not to wear their signet rings everyday. I'm not saying they never wear them on their right hands, but the majority of the time it is on their left hand. So if they want to wear a wedding ring, rather than wear rings on 2 fingers, they put them both on the little finger, Michael of Kent being the exception.

 

[NGalitzine]

Sometimes, when a man or woman chooses not to wear a wedding ring, it's to have someone else believe they are not married....

.

I know more than a few single men who put wedding rings on when they go out to the clubs. It is a magnet for a certain type of woman (often married) looking for an uncomplicated fun night / one night stand.

 

[Duke of Marmalade]

I actually liked the decision because William will avoid all the stupid questions in case he wont be wearing the ring occasionally.

My Dad never wore his wedding ring and when I got married, I actually asked my husband if he wanted to wear a wedding ring or not, because if he decided not to wear one anyway he wouldnt have got one in the first place. He decided to wear one but if he had said no, I wouldnt have bothered at all.

 

[MarNoe]

My husband was in the Air Force working around aircraft and their electrical systems. He did not wear a ring because it would have been dangerous for him to do so. To put your hand into a complex electrical area with metal on your hand would have been inviting trouble - it could draw current and not only take his finger off but also ruin thousands of dollars of equipment.

 

[CyrilVladisla]

On October 7th, 1666, King Charles II of England issued a Royal Proclamation concerning what clothing was expected at court.
As part of his proclamation, King Charles resolved to start wearing a vest with pockets where he could place his watch rather than wearing it around his neck.
​

 

[Tarlita]

I think Some men enjoy wearing some sort of jewellry. Cufflinks, Tie pins, hat pins like a ceremonial scottish kilt pin. Badges and all sorts of medals. Even the Grand Masons issue a gold bar pin with 2 diamonds on it for certain attainments of rank.
Some men wear heavy gold chains. Lord Mayors wear a ceremonial gold chain and that is a jewel as well. But lets face it you can't go past the Maharajahs of old covered in pearls and precious stones.