Buckingham Palace is reportedly rethinking plans for Queen Consort Camilla to wear the Queen Mother’s crown at the upcoming royal coronation.
The King will be coronated at Westminster Abbey on May 6, 2023 – eight months after the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II.
It is tradition for the sovereign to wear the St Edward’s Crown. His wife was expected to wear a crown crafted especially for another Queen Elizabeth, later the Queen Mother.
She wore it at the coronation of her and her husband King George VI – the King’s grandfather – in 1937. The King was very close to his grandmother, and was reportedly very keen for the tradition to continue at his own coronation.
However, that is in doubt, with heated debate erupting over the crown’s centrepiece, the Kohinoor diamond, following the death of Queen Elizabeth.
“The original plan was for the Queen Consort to be crowned with the late Queen Mother’s crown when her husband acceded to the throne. That was certainly the agreement a few years ago when the whole idea of the Duchess of Cornwall becoming Queen Consort was first mooted,” a royal source told Britain’s Daily Mail.
“But times have changed and His Majesty The King is acutely sensitive to these issues, as are his advisers. There are serious political sensitivities and significant nervousness around them, particularly regarding India.”
The 105-carat jewel has a complicated past, with India, Iran, Pakistan and Afghanistan all laying claim to the Kohinoor.
The diamond is thought to have been mined in southern India centuries ago. It has changed hands numerous times since, making it a tough task for historians to narrow down exactly who holds rightful ownership.
It landed in British hands in 1849.
The term ‘Kohinoor’ began trending shortly after the Queen’s death last month, with Twitter users demanding the jewel’s return.
“Give back Kohinoor! She [The Queen] doesn’t need it anymore,” one wrote.
“Can we get our #Kohinoor Diamond back, which was stolen by Britisher [sic] from #India?” another said.
“They created wealth on others’ death, famine, torture and looting.”
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The controversial Kohinoor diamond adorns the Queen Mother’s crown. Photo: Getty
Indian political figures have also weighed in, signalling rising tensions between the two nations.
One member of India’s Bharatiya Janata Party told The Washington Post that the jewel symbolised the monarch’s “unapologetic” link to their “barbaric and exploitative” past.
“[It] hows the British people and government are carrying the legacy of their colonialism,” Rakesh Sinha said.
“It exhibits the loot, plunder and exploitation of India by them. The most regretful is they are not ready to correct their past and showing off the stolen jewel as the part of their sovereign seat.”
The Kohinoor diamond is held by a detachable mount, meaning the royal family could choose to remove the gem for to the coronation.
Otherwise, they may opt for another crown completely.
Buckingham Palace is yet to comment officially.
While the Kohinoor may be the most talked-about gem in the crown jewels, the royal family also possesses a collection of controversial Cullinan diamonds.
Nine diamonds were cut from the original Cullinan diamond, mined in South Africa and presented to King Edward VII in 1907.
The jewels adorn a range of royal artefacts, including the Imperial State Crown, which was displayed on the Queen’s coffin during her funeral procession.
The Imperial State Crown seen at Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral. Photo: Getty
Although the original Cullinan diamond was gifted to King Edward VII, some South Africans still want the diamonds returned.
Upon the Queen’s death last month, South African MP Vuyo Zungula said South Africa must “demand the return of all the gold, diamonds stolen by Britain”.
In an unearthed film clip from the 1960s, the Queen speaks about the diamonds, revealing she and her family refer to them as “the chips”.
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