Plans for UK's Queen Consort's coronation using the Kohinoor diamond are being reconsidered after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) reportedly warned that the move would evoke "painful memories of the colonial past".
According to The Telegraph, Buckingham Palace officials are reviewing whether Queen Camilla should wear the precious diamond when she and her husband King Charles III get coronated at Westminster Abbey on May 6, 2023.
Last worn in 1937 by The Queen Mother, consort of King George VI, the crown features 2,800 diamonds, with the 105-carat Kohinoor, one of the largest cut diamonds in the world, at the front cross.
The BJP has been vocal in its opposition to the use of the precious diamond, which it claims rightfully belongs to India.
"The coronation of Camilla and the use of the crown jewel Kohinoor brings back painful memories of the colonial past," a BJP spokesperson told The Telegraph. "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 do transport a few Indians back to the days of the British Empire in India," the spokesperson added.
Reports suggest that the Queen Consort's coronation could see the Kohinoor diamond detached from the crown or the new King and Queen could use some other crown from the Royal collection.
AdvertisementRelationship between India and the United Kingdom took a hit recently with the India-UK free trade agreement (FTA) reportedly on the "verge of collapse" after the Indian government was angered by comments made by UK Home Secretary Suella Braverman questioning action over visa overstayers from the country.
'The Times' quoted government sources to say that ministers in New Delhi were "shocked and disappointed" by the "disrespectful" remarks made by Braverman.
