When Cecil Angell got engaged in 1948, he didn’t have enough money to buy his fiancée, Margaret, a ring. The couple married the same year, and Cecil promised his bride that when his favorite soccer team, Leicester City, won the FA Cup Final, he’d buy her the jewel.
Since the wedding, Leicester City came close to winning the final four times, once in 1949, and three times in the 60s. To the frustration of Margaret, they lost in the final match of the tournament each time.
The club finally picked up the coveted trophy this May, but sadly. Cecil died in 2005 so he wasn’t there to see his club’s victory or to buy his wife her precious ring.
Thankfully, Cecile’s promise was common knowledge within the family. “When they got married in 1948, he’d just got back from the war so money was scarce,” shared the couple’s son Mike with the BBC.
As Mike appreciated the importance of his father’s promise, he decided he would honor it himself and told his mom he’s be buying her the long-awaited ring.
“It wasn’t a promise I made to him. but I thought it was something my mother deserved. Obviously Leicester City did win so I rang her after the final whistle to tell her the full story. Everything went quiet. I said ‘are you alright, mum?’ and she said ‘I’m crying.'”
Margaret joked to her son how “it wouldn’t be worth it as we wouldn’t get our money’s worth.” But after receiving the sapphire ring, the delighted nonagenarian has vowed never to take it off.
And today we celebrate...