Bright and Bold: Predicting Meghan Markle’s Royal Engagement Ring

As the world eagerly awaits a royal engagement announcement from Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, speculation is rife about what kind of engagement ring the prince will choose for his beloved.

While the couple has only been dating for a year, the public is already clamoring for a fairytale ending.

But what kind of ring will Harry choose?

If history is any indication, it will be a colorful and bold gemstone, not a traditional diamond solitaire.

Royal engagement rings have followed a bit of a theme over the years, with brightly colored jewels taking center stage.

Perhaps the most famous example is the ring that Prince Harry's mother, Princess Diana, chose from Garrard's catalogue in 1981.

The ring features a 12-carat oval blue Ceylon sapphire surrounded by 14 solitaire diamonds on an 18k white gold setting.

After William and Kate announced their engagement in 2010, sales of sapphire engagement rings skyrocketed.

A penchant for sapphires seems to run in the family.

Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon, who later became the Queen Mother, was presented with a sapphire ring from the Duke of York before she got married.

Princess Anne also received a classic ring of a sapphire between two diamonds when she got engaged to her first husband, Mark Phillips.

Even Prince Andrew's engagement ring for Sarah Ferguson featured an oval-cut Burmese ruby surrounded by ten brilliant-cut diamonds in a floral arrangement.

It's not just British royals who have a liking for colorful precious stones.

Queen Maxima of the Netherlands' engagement ring is one of the more unusual ones sported by a princess.

To reflect the Dutch nation's national colors, she was given an orange, oval-shaped diamond flanked by two teardrop-shaped diamonds and set in two diamond-encrusted bands by her husband King Willem-Alexander in 2001.

Crown Princess Frederik of Denmark chose a ruby ring to give to his beloved, Crown Princess Mary in 2003.

Her engagement ring was a modern take on the Duchess of York's and featured a center-emerald-cut diamond flanked by two ruby baguettes.

Even more senior royals aren't adverse to a massive rock either.

Queen Elizabeth received a square-cut diamond engagement ring with diamond side stones set in platinum from Philip Mountbatten in 1947.

As is common among the royals, the diamonds all came from the groom's mother's tiara.

Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall's ring is also a family heirloom, thought to be given to the Queen Mother in 1926 on the occasion of the birth of her daughter, Queen Elizabeth.

It remains to be seen what kind of ring Harry will choose for Meghan, but it's clear that he will put some thought into it.

After all, this is the man who unselfishly gave his brother the keepsake he chose from his mother's possessions – the now world-famous sapphire and diamond engagement ring William gave to Kate.

With a history of colorful and bold engagement rings in the royal family, Meghan's ring is sure to be a showstopper.

As the world waits with bated breath for news of the engagement, spare a thought for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.

Not only are they the subjects of fevered engagement speculation, but they're also contending with miserable weather, Disney pulling all its films from Netflix, and a standoff between two nuclear-armed countries.

But with a royal engagement on the horizon, perhaps there's a glimmer of hope in these dark times.