Put a ring on it? Prince William will not

Prince William will reportedly not wear a wedding ring, so should other married men follow his example?

Prince William has decided that his left hand will remain ring-free even after his wedding.

He may have the state carriage and the cathedral, the estimated two billion spectators and, given that he is a prince, the ultimate fairy-tale wedding. But one thing Prince William does not have is a wedding ring. Indeed, his decision not to wear one has created something of a storm - in the worlds of social etiquette watchers and the jewellery trade, of course, but equally in those homes in which a groom's refusal to wear a ring continues to be met with resistance from the bride.
Yet men wearing wedding rings is a relatively new tradition. While women wore them as far back as ancient Egypt - where the practice was first followed - men have typically only worn them since the Second World War, when conscription and huge mobilisation saw couples find new interest in the wedding ring as a symbol of their unity while apart. In the US, so called "double-ring" wedding ceremonies accounted for 80 per cent of weddings after the war, compared with just 15 per cent during the 1930s.
In fact, it has been more traditionally the case that only the woman wore a wedding band as a sign of her "belonging" to her husband - and parity is just one reason why women today want that sense of mutual "ownership" to be equally expressed through the wearing of a band. And there's the notion that wearing a wedding ring makes it clear to others that the man is married.
"Of course, cinema is littered with philanderers removing their wedding rings before entering the singles bar," notes the men's accessories designer Simon Carter. "But I think now it's perfectly acceptable for a man to choose not to wear a wedding ring, as it is for a woman to choose not to take her husband's name. It's just a question of motive. Men seem to be split on the issue."
William, certainly, is not alone. For some men it is a matter of family tradition - the not-wearing of a ring is an idea passed down, although not in William's case, since Prince Charles does wear one even if the Duke of Edinburgh does not.
For some it is a matter of class, with men in the trades finding a ring a hindrance and those of the upper classes regarding a pinkie or signet ring as the only acceptable male jewellery - although etiquette guides such as Debrett's, in the UK, make no ruling on this, and clearly Prince Charles is more blue blood than blue collar.
And with the growing acceptability of male jewellery over recent decades, thanks in large part to the influence of hip-hop culture and celebrities, even the most macho of men now has licence to slip on a ring without provoking comment.
According to the jeweller Slim Barrett, who has made rings for the likes of David Bowie and actor Colin Farrell, it is simply more to do with the physical discomfort that some men find in wearing jewellery, one nearly all women have grown used to since adolescence.
"The choice to wear a ring for a man is very much down to the issue of how it feels, rather than what it means," says Barrett, who does not wear one himself. "Many men are out of practice in wearing a ring on a finger, where the sensation is initially quite distinct. But this is not to say men don't see meaning in the idea of jewellery to commemorate the event, or appreciate the symbolism of exchange. They do, but increasingly in other ways."
Indeed, wedding ring designs are now more varied - with more ostentatious styles with mixed metals, gemstones or engraving on the rise, even if the classic plain gold band remains the norm. Vintage pieces are especially popular now, says Barrett. But, he adds, the idea of a piece of wedding jewellery, rather than simply a ring, may be taking over. Among his clients are those who now wear, for example, a diamond ear-stud in place of a ring, or exchange rings but then wear theirs as a pendant on a chain.
This may not take into account the traditional reason given for wearing a ring, and for doing so, in many cultures, on the fourth finger of the hand (the finger was believed to contain a vein that led directly to the heart, according to Henry Swinburne's 1680 defining legal document Treatise of Spousals). But at least it goes some way to keeping the marital home a peaceful one.