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A controversial diamond could bring back “painful memories of the colonial past” if used in the Queen Consort’s coronation.
The controversial jewel is set to feature in the coronation of King Charles next year, with the Queen Consort set to wear the late Queen Mother’s crown at the ceremony.
The priceless piece features 2,800 diamonds with the front cross holding the famous 105-carat Koh-i-Noor diamond, one of the largest cut diamonds in the world.
The historic treasure was seized by the East India Company in 1849 when it was presented to Queen Victoria and became part of the Crown Jewels.
The coronation crown made especially for the Queen Mother’s 1937 coronation features the famous but controversial jewel.
Camilla is due to be crowned in a similar but simpler ceremony as part of the King’s coronation on May 6 next year in Westminster Abbey.
But according to the Telegraph, a spokesman for Indian prime minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party said: “The coronation of Camilla and the use of the crown jewel Koh-i-noor brings back painful memories of the colonial past.
“Most Indians have very little memory of the oppressive past. Five to six generations of Indians suffered under multiple foreign rules for over five centuries.
“Recent occasions, like Queen Elizabeth II’s death, the coronation of the new Queen Camilla, and the use of the Koh-i-noor does transport a few Indians back to the days of the British Empire in India.”
The date for the coronation was announced on Tuesday.
The deeply religious affair will take place in the Abbey, eight months after Charles’s accession to the throne and the death of the Queen.
The Palace said the ceremony will be “rooted in longstanding traditions and pageantry” but also “reflect the monarch’s role today and look towards the future”.
Charles III will be anointed with holy oil, receive the orb, coronation ring, and sceptre, be crowned with the majestic St Edward’s Crown, and blessed during the historic ceremony.
Camilla will also be anointed with holy oil and crowned, just like the Queen Mother was when she was crowned Queen in 1937.
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