“Every person in India has heard of this stone and wants it back. Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan have also laid claim to gem, which was the possession of many rulers, including India’s Mughal emperors, before coming into the hands of the British monarchy.

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.”

“It exhibits the loot plunder and exploitation of India by them. If Camilla wears the Koh-i-Noor in her crown, it “shows the British people and government are carrying the legacy of their colonialism,” he said. Rakesh Sinha, a lawmaker from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, told The Washington Post that the Koh-i-Noor symbolized the monarchy’s “unapologetic” link to a past that was “barbaric and exploitative,” adding that the jewel must be returned to India by way of recompense. India – with which Britain would very much like to conclude a trade agreement – has repeatedly demanded the return of the diamond, especially following Elizabeth’s funeral. The diamond, however, is intimately tied up with Britain’s history and one of many contested treasures it acquired as ruler of a vast worldwide empire – a legacy that came under new scrutiny with the death of Queen Elizabeth II. Many thought that Camilla would, like previous consorts, wear the crown during the coronation next May when the new king and queen consort will be anointed with holy oil and presented with a crown.

It was last brought out in public for the 2002 funeral of the queen mother, the last person to wear it, and it rested on a purple velvet pillow atop her coffin. The diamond, which is the size of a small egg, rests in the front cross on a crown that is normally on display at the Tower of London.

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