Both royal weddings and engagement rings are black-hole topics for us. Once we start considering either, we could get lost forever. So you can imagine, as we contemplated Europe’s royal engagement rings this morning, how long it was before we came up for air. (Hint: HOURS.) Today, part one of what we found: the engagement rings of the Belgian, British, Danish, and Dutch royal families. So. Many. Rings—many that you’ve probably never seen before.
Belgian Royal Family
The head of the Belgian Royal Family is Philippe I, King of the Belgians. The engagement ring of Queen Mathilde of Belgium, wife of the king, features an oval-cut ruby in a diamond halo with more diamonds on a thick band. 
Princess Astrid of Belgium, sister of the king, has a large (fit-for-a-princess, obvs.) emerald-cut diamond on a plain band.
It’s unclear if Nobile Elisabetta Maria Rosboch von Wolkenstein (married to Prince Amedeo of Belgium, son of Princess Astrid) has an engagement ring; on her wedding day, she only wore a thin gold band, which you can just glimpse below. (You may recall that Prince Amedeo gave up his chance at the throne when he married Elisabetta, a commoner.)
All the photos we found of Princess Claire of Belgium’s engagement ring were blurry. (She’s married to Prince Laurent of Belgium, brother of Philippe I.) But it seems she wears a round-cut solitaire on a gold band and matching gold wedding ring. Here are few far-away shots:
British Royal Family
The head of the British Royal Family is Elizabeth II, Queen of the United Kingdom. Her 3-carat round diamond features 10 smaller diamonds from a tiara owned by her husband’s mother, Princess Alice. The diamonds were set in platinum by London jeweler Philip Antrobus Ltd., and the ring is still frequently seen on QE2’s left hand—along with her wedding band—even today.
Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, is married to Charles, Prince of Wales, the queen’s son. Her engagement ring features an emerald-cut center stone flanked by emerald-cut side stones, somewhat similar to Angelina Jolie’s engagement ring.
We all know and love the engagement ring belonging to Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge. (She’s married to Prince William, Duke of Cambridge, the queen’s grandson, if you’re just getting out of a coma or something.) Of course the ring previous belonged to her late mother-in-law, Diana, Princess of Wales.
Sarah, Duchess of York, previously married to Prince Andrew, Duke of York, the queen’s son, had a similar ring, featuring a ruby (albeit smaller than Di’s sapphire) in a diamond halo.
Sophie, Countess of Wessex, has an engagement ring with a round-cut center stone with a trillion-cut side stone on either side, which she paired with a plain gold band; she’s married to Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex, the queen’s son.
In recent years though, she swapped her engagement ring for a thick band with diamonds.
Anne, Princess Royal, the queen’s daughter, often wears a simple pair of gold bands today. But it seems as though her original engagement ring featured a sapphire.
Danish Royal Family
The head of the Danish Royal Family is Margrethe II, Queen of Denmark. Her engagement ring features two massive diamonds. (Probably at least three carats each.)
Mary, Crown Princess of Denmark, is married to Frederik, Crown Prince of Denmark, the queen’s son. Her engagement ring features an emerald-cut diamond flanked by rubies.
Alexandra, Countess of Frederiksborg, previously married to Prince Joachim of Denmark, the queen’s son, also had a diamond with a ruby on either side. 
The prince’s second wife, Princess Marie of Denmark, originally wore a ring with diamond flanked by a ruby and a sapphire, but it seems that recently she pairs her wedding band with two more low-key diamond bands.
Princess Benedikte of Denmark, the queen’s sister, has a ruby too, but on her ring, it’s the center stone.
Dutch Royal Family
The head of the Dutch Royal Family is Willem-Alexander, King of the Netherlands. His wife, Queen Maxima of the Netherlands, has an engagement ring with an orange center stone. Citrine, perhaps?
Princess Mabel of Orange-Nassau, was married to Prince Friso of Orange-Nassau, the late brother of the king. She wore a band made up of many loosely connected diamonds.
The king’s other brother, Prince Constantijn of the Netherlands, is married to Princess Laurentien of the Netherlands. She’s constantly switching up what’s on her ring finger, but it seems that the ring she wore on her wedding day featured a sapphire.
Stay tuned for a follow-up post on the engagement rings of the Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monegasque, Spanish, and Swedish royal families.
And in non-royal rings, check out this bride’s vintage sparkler. Swoon.
Watch this: