Mysterious detail we all missed in Meghan Markle photos

After months of barely being seen, Meghan is back in the public eye – but one very conspicuous accessory has been noticeably absent.

After months of barely being seen, Meghan Markle has recently returned to the public eye (sort of).

But amid the frenzy whenever the Duchess is Sussex is pictured out and about, most of us missed an interesting detail hidden in her choice of accessories – or, more accurately, lack thereof.

In every outing since at least May, it appears that Meghan has opted not to wear her stunning diamond engagement ring, first beamed around the world in late 2017 on the day she and Prince Harry announced they would be getting married.

Meghan has been seen without her engagement ring, seen here wearing only her wedding band. Picture: Backgrid

Harry and Meghan announced their engagement in November 2017. Picture: Daniel Leal-Olivas/AFP

However, she has continued to wear her wedding band, and also appears to occasionally layer it with a different, thicker gold ring.

The one-of-a-kind engagement ring was designed by Harry himself (with the help of the late Queen Elizabeth’s jeweller, Cleave & Company) and features a large cushion-cut centre diamond sourced from Botswana, where the couple spent time together early in their relationship.

It also features two side stones from the late Princess Diana’s jewellery collection.

During Harry and Meghan’s engagement interview, the bride-to-be gushed: “It’s beautiful, and he designed it – it’s incredible.”

The stunning ring was displayed during the couple’s official engagement photo shoot. Picture: AFP Photo/Alex Lubomirski

It was custom-made, designed by Harry. Picture: AFP Photo/Pool/Adrian Dennis

But it was nowhere to be seen in May, when Meghan broke cover to head out on a hike in California, just hours after skipping her father-in-law’s coronation.

Later that month, it was once again absent from her finger during her high-profile appearance at the Ms Foundation’s Women of Vision Awards.

Meghan opted for a simpler piece of jewellery than her engagement ring for the Women of Vision Awards. Picture: Kevin Mazur/Getty Images

Meghan also appeared to ditch the engagement ring, wearing just her wedding band, during an outing at the farmer’s market in Montecito last month – and again while out solo in Santa Barbara last weekend.

During her most recent outing, eagle-eyed fans also noticed an anti-stress patch stuck on her wrist.

Meghan was spotted out and about in Santa Barbara over the weekend, wearing an anti-stress patch – but apparently no engagement ring. Picture: Backgrid

Meghan’s engagement ring has undergone some subtle changes since it was first given to her in 2017, with the duchess replacing the original gold band with a thin micro-pavé version just two years later, so it’s possible the ring is currently undergoing another change.

News.com.au has reached out to the Duchess of Sussex’s spokesman for comment.

Her husband, Harry, recently wrapped up his whirlwind two-stop tour of Asia, which saw him attend Japan’s ISPS Sports Values Summit: Special Edition – celebrating the power of sport, community and philanthropy – before heading to Singapore for a Sentebale charity polo match.

Harry’s solo trip followed a challenging first-half of the year for he and his wife, amid the collapse of their high-profile Spotify deal and negative reviews surrounding their attempt at building a commercial brand.

Last month, a Sussex source was also forced to deny rumours that their marriage was in trouble following reports they were “taking time apart” in an effort to rebuild their bond.

The insider insisted to Page Six that any split speculation was untrue, and “literally made up”.

The couple themselves have not made any comment on the matter and when last publicly referencing their relationship – in their Harry & Meghan docu-series and Harry’s memoir, Spare – appeared to be very much in love.

They’ve been seen together only a handful of times in the months since, with just one official joint appearance this year.

Originally published as Mysterious detail we all missed in Meghan Markle photos