Welsh gold used in Meghan Markle's engagement ring sold at auction for £44,000

Welsh gold, which was used in Meghan Markle's engagement ring, has been sold at auction for £44,000.

Prince Harry and Meghan are expected to wed with the Welsh gold used in every royal wedding band since 1923.

And today ten lots of the gold nuggets and flakes were sold for record prices at auction - at up to 20 times the price of normal gold.

The Welsh gold is normally five times more valuable than imported gold because it is so rare and was expected to fetch £8,500.

But "royal wedding fever" was praised after the gold was sold for the princely sum of £40,000.

The Queen, Princess Margaret, Princess Anne, Princess Diana and the Duchess of Cambridge have all kept up the tradition using Welsh gold on their wedding rings.

Mr Rogers-Jones said it was rare for Welsh gold to be available for auction and would give monarchists a chance to design their own 'royal' wedding.

The Welsh gold sold at auction in Colwyn Bay, North Wales, went for more than 20 times the rate standard gold was being sold for on international markets yesterday.

The precious metal was first used in a royal wedding in 1923 for the band given by George's VI to the Queen Mother.

The smallest nugget available weighs just 0.1oz and has a guide price of £600-£700 but went for £2,100.

The largest lot up for auction is 0.5oz of gold flakes and dust, which is expected to fetch between £1,600 and £2,000 but sold for £10,000.