Kohinoor, the world’s most contentious diamond, is about to change hands. The diamond is currently placed in the Imperial State Crown, which was produced in 1937 for King George VI’s coronation and eventually passed on to Elizabeth II. The diamond, however, is scheduled to be worn by the Queen’s daughter-in-law and Prince Charles III’s wife, Camilla Parker Bowles, during the coronation of the new King.
Camilla has been named Queen Consort of the United Kingdom and 14 other Commonwealth states as the wife of King Charles III, and during the coronation of King Charles, the Crown of Queen Elizabeth, which now holds the Kohinoor, will be placed on her head. The crown was made in 1937 for Queen Elizabeth, wife of King George VI, and as she continued to wear it after her daughter Elizabeth II became the Queen, the crown is also known as Queen Mother’s Crown. The Crown is made of platinum and decorated with about 2,800 diamonds, the most famous of them being the Kohinoor.
However, while several Indian media reports said that Kohinoor is fitted on the Imperial State Crown, and Camilla will inherit this crown, which is completely wrong. Imperial State Crown is the crown of the Monarch, which can be a King or Queen, which means this crown will go to King Charles III. Moreover as informed above, the Kohinoor diamond is on the Queen Mother’s Crown, not the Imperial State Crown. The Imperial State Crown has another large diamond, the Cullinan II from Africa.
The Queen Mother’s Crown is currently on display along with the other British Royal Crown Jewels in the Jewel House at the Tower of London. These crown jewels are Royal property, and actually, they don’t become personal property of anyone. This means while Camilla will wear it during the coronation, it does not become her personal property.
It is also notable that Camilla has become the Queen Consort, the wife of the Monarch, and not the Queen, which means a female monarch, a key difference several Indian media reports have missed. And for that reason, Queen Elizabeth II used the Imperial Royal Crown, not the Queen Mother’s crown, because she was the Queen, the Monarch. In February this year, the Queen announced that Camilla Parker Bowles would become Queen Consort when Charles took the reins of the monarchy in England.
Therefore, in summary, the Kohinoor diamond remains fitted on the Crown of Queen Elizabeth, which is on display at the Tower of London. As Queen Consort, Camilla will wear during the coronation of the King, and perhaps in other royal ceremonies in future.
History of the Kohinoor
Golconda, India, is where the Kohinoor originated. During the Kakatiya era, it was discovered during coal mining in the Kollur mine (particularly, the Rayalaseema diamond mine signifies the ‘Land of Stones’). It began to pass from one governing dynasty to the next at that period. Originally, it was called ‘Samantik Mani,’ which means “Prince and Leader of All Diamonds.” When the Persian King Nadir Shah (King of Persia) invaded India in 1739, he called it the “Mountain of Light.” It was treasured at the time as a sign of an Empire’s power. It is well said that “he who has this diamond will own the world, but will also know all its misfortunes; only God, or a woman, will know all its misfortunes.”
The story of how the British East India Company captured the ‘cursed’ Kohinoor
During the Second Anglo-Sikh War in 1849 AD, the British army made Raja Ranjit Singh’s son Duleep Singh surrender the Sikh empire. Following that, the British Government in Lahore entrusted the famous Kohinoor diamond to the treasury of the British East India Company.
When Duleep Singh, then 11-years-old, ‘surrendered’ the Sikh kingdom to the British, it is said he also surrendered the Kohinoor diamond. Dr. John Login was named the guardian of Duleep Singh and the Kohinoor after the Sikh dominion was surrendered to the British East India Company. Dr. Login persuaded Duleep Singh to become a Christian. Singh is widely regarded as the “King Who Gave Away Kohinoor.” However, according to Peter Bance, the truth was far from what people believed.
When Duleep Singh was 11 years old, Lord Dalhousie, the Governor General of India, took the diamond from the Sikh Empire’s treasury. When Duleep Singh met Queen Victoria in 1854, he expressed a wish to view the diamond. Lady Login argued that seeing the diamond would do him no damage, and it was brought from the British treasury on the Queen’s orders. “Duleep grasped the diamond in his hand and took it to the window,” Bance explained. When he saw the diamond gleaming in the sunlight, he raised his hand and murmured, ‘to Humble Majesty Kohinoor diamond,’ and thus the bid to donate the diamond came into being.”
