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His great-grandmother, Queen Elizabeth the
Queen Mother, was the first to use gold from Wales in her ring
when, as Elizabeth Bowes Lyon, she married the future King
George VI in 1923.
Her example was followed by the current Queen Elizabeth when she
married Prince Philip in 1947 and then by royals through to
Prince William's wedding to Catherine Middleton in 2011.
For Markle's wedding, the rare gold ring with the Welsh dragon
stamp will probably be made by jeweler Wartski at their London
workshop, said Ben Roberts, managing director of Clogau which
has provided gold for the royal family for more than a century.
Roberts said he thought the ring would be a light shade of gold
to match Markle's engagement ring, which was designed by Prince
Harry and features three diamonds.
"Looking at her engagement ring, it will probably have to match,
so it will probably be yellow," he told Reuters, rather than the
distinctive rose-gold commonly used in the company's jewellery
designs.
In 1981, Clogau gave the queen an ingot of Welsh gold from one
of its two mines, Clogau St David's, to make the wedding rings
of future royal brides.
The 24-carat Welsh gold has a higher percentage of pure gold
than standard 18-carat gold, giving it a rich, warm color.
The company's two mines, both in Bontddu, northwest Wales, are
currently closed, having last operated in the late 1990s. As
finite gold resources are running out, Roberts has plans to
reopen Gwynfynydd in the near future and invite the queen's son
and heir Prince Charles to visit the mine.
(Editing by Stephen Addison)
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