King Charles III and Queen Camilla began their royal visit to Kenya on Tuesday and were received by President William Ruto and First Lady Rachel Ruto.
In the morning, the King and Queen of the United Kingdom were treated to a lush ceremony at State House Kenya, with the King inspecting the Guard of Honour.
Keen observers were quick to notice the ring around King Charles’ little finger, which he has been photographed adorning over the years.
Apparently, the king has worn the ring since the mid-70s, and as fits a royal, the band is made of gold.
Believed to be over 175 years old, the ring dates back to Queen Victoria’s reign over Great Britain.
The gold ring is actually called a signet ring, often referred to as a ‘gentleman’s ring.’
So why does the British king have the pinky ring wherever he goes?
The practice is rooted in a tradition in the Old Testament, according to Beatrice Behlen, the senior curator of fashion and decorative arts at the Museum of London.
As recorded in the Bible, signet rings were engraved with seals and were used to authenticate documents and identify ownership.
Traditionally, men of high social status have worn the ‘gentleman’s ring’ to symbolize their family's heritage and individual signature.
In an interview with Bloomberg, Beatrice revealed that the signet rings were popularized during the rise of the bourgeoisie, or the middle class.
Members of the middle class would wear the signet ring to show that they were of a higher class than the proletariat, or the working class.
Sometimes signet rings indicate kinship and belonging to a society or a club.
Interestingly, experts note that men in England’s Upper Class were more likely to have a gentleman’s ring instead of a wedding ring.
Mostly worn on the little finger of the less-dominant hand, King Charles has sometimes worn his signet ring on his ring finger, together with his wedding band.
King Charles’ signet ring has the official crest of the Prince of Wales, a node to the title he held before becoming the reigning monarch.
Prince William, the current Prince of Wales and heir to the throne, also adorns a signet ring.
In recent times, signet rings have also been embraced by women, with royals like the late Princess Diana and Kate Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge, spotted adorning the rings.
While signet rings are not used to sign documents today, they usually still signal the wearer’s social status.
