Here's Why Prince William Never Wears a Wedding Ring (Unlike Prince Harry!)

Kate Middleton and Prince William got married on April 29, 2011, and ever since that highly romantic/fated/legendary day, the Duchess has been wearing a pretty band made of Welsh gold on her ring finger. Look, here it is stacked next to her massive engagement bling:

Prince William, on the other hand, wears approximately NOTHING on his finger. Here he is meeting Paddington Bear, where you can see pretty clearly that he's not wearing a wedding band. And yes, maybe I took this as an opportunity to post a photo of Paddington Bear. No regrets.

So, now that we've established that William doesn't wear a ring, a couple of questions remain....

1. Did Kate Give Wills a Ring on Their Wedding Day?

Answer: Nope! Here's a video of their ceremony, where you can plainly see William pop a ring on Kate, and she pop nothing on him in return:

And here's a GIF in case your boss frowns on you watching ancient royal wedding videos at work:

2. Do Most Royal Men Wear Wedding Rings?

It depends, but mostly yes! Prince Charles wore a wedding band stacked behind his pinkie signet ring when he married Princess Diana:

And nowadays he wears a similar one as a symbol of his marriage to Camilla:

Meanwhile, Prince William's brother Prince Harry has been wearing a wedding ring since his marriage to Meghan Markle.

That said, Prince Philip (Queen Elizabeth's husband) doesn't wear a ring—so it's not like William is fully alone on a ring-less island.

3. So, Why Did William Opt Out?

The reason comes down to personal preference. Royal biographer Penny Junor told Vogue, "He doesn’t like jewelry, and the Palace issued a statement before their wedding saying so."

This is true, though it was less of a "statement" and more of an anonymous tip from a palace aide to veteran royal reporter Rebecca English. "It was something the couple discussed but Prince William isn't one for jewelry—he doesn't even wear a signet ring—and decided he didn't want to," the aide confirmed. "It really is just down to personal preference."

The aide also claimed that Kate was completely fine with William's decision, adding, "It is quite common for men in that strata of society not to wear a traditional wedding band. If they do, they tend to wear it with their family signet ring but William doesn't have one of those."

Welp, there you have it. Kay, bye-bye as you were!