Queen Elizabeth's secret wedding band inscription, chosen by Prince Philip, may finally be unveiled after her death

Queen Elizabeth's wedding ring held a secret privy to only three people – herself, her late husband Prince Philip and the jeweller who created it.

While the couple's 73-year marriage was often displayed to the public, no one ever knew the secret inscription on the band, which was chosen by the Duke of Edinburgh.

However, following the news of the monarch's death on September 8, it's likely the ring may be passed down to one of her children or grandchildren.

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It would mean royal fans might possibly learn the hidden message underneath the ring, a mystery that's been shrouded in secrecy for decades.

The ring was crafted from a lump of Welsh gold from the Clogau St David mine, used to make wedding bands for the royal family since 1923.

Writing of the secret inscription in her book Prince Philip: A Portrait of the Duke of Edinburgh, author Ingrid Seward said: "At least Philip didn't have the expense of a wedding ring, as the people of Wales supplied a nugget of Welsh gold from which the ring as made.

"[The Queen] never takes it off and inside the ring is an inscription. No one knows what it says, other than the engraver, the Queen and her husband."

The couple had announced their engagement on July 9, 1947, having met 13 years previously at another royal wedding.

Philip had presented his future bride with an engagement ring crafted from platinum, featuring a three-carat round brilliant-cut diamond and 10 smaller pavé set stones on either side.

The ring was designed by Prince Philip with British jeweller Philip Antrobus Ltd, now owned by Pragnell.

What makes the engagement ring so special was its link to Philip's mother, Princess Alice of Battenberg.

The centre stone was taken from a tiara belonging to Princess Alice, which was given to her as a wedding present by Tsar Nicholas II and Tsarina Alexandra of Russia.

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The Romanov royal family was famously executed by Bolshevik rebels after the October Revolution in July 1918.

Princess Alice gave her son the tiara so he could provide his wife with a ring fit for a queen.

He also chose to have some of the other diamonds from the antique tiara made into a bracelet, which he gifted to the then-Princess Elizabeth on their wedding day.

She wore the diamond bracelet at the royal wedding and continued to do so throughout her reign.

But little known to many, Queen Elizabeth's wedding band also held a personal touch curtesy of Prince Philip.

He had the jeweller inscribe several words into the band, which remained a mystery to everyone except the couple and the jeweller.

Most royal brides have chosen to have their wedding bands made from that same lump of Welsh gold including Diana, Princess of Wales, the Duchess of Cambridge and the Duchess of Sussex.

But Princess Beatrice went against royal tradition by having her wedding band made from platinum to match her Art Deco-Victorian engagement ring.

In fact, her engagement ring – made by jeweller Shaun Leane – is said to be a nod to Her Majesty's own.

Beatrice's ring features a central diamond of 2.5 carats, flanked by .75 carat tapered baguette diamonds.