• February 9, 2022

Prince Charles’ wife Camilla will wear Kohinoor diamond crown when Charles is made king

LONDON Feb 9: Prince Charles’ wife Camilla will wear the Queen Mother’s 1937 crown containing the coveted Kohinoor diamond when he is made King of the UK and she is crowned Queen Consort, the Daily Mail newspaper in Britain has revealed.

The Mail said: “Camilla will have the Queen Mother’s priceless platinum and diamond crown placed on her head when Charles is made king. It contains the Kohinoor diamond, one of the world’s largest and most controversial jewels.”

In a statement on Saturday night, on the eve of the 70th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II’s accession to the throne, the 95-year-old announced that it was her “sincere wish”, that when in the fullness of time Charles becomes king, that the Duchess of Cornwall will be known as queen consort “as she continues her own loyal service”.

The crown, last seen in public when laid on the Queen Mother’s coffin in 2002, was made in 1937 for Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, consort of King George VI, for her coronation as queen consort. It is part of the Crown Jewels stored in the Tower of London.

Fitted with a purple velvet cap, it has a platinum frame set with 2,800 diamonds, mainly cushion-shaped but with some rose-cut and some brilliant-cut. Most of the diamonds were removed from Queen Victoria’s Regal Circlet. It is the front cross above the band that holds the 105.6-carat Kohinoor diamond, one of the world’s most controversial jewels, in a detachable platinum mount.

After Queen Victoria died in 1901, the Kohinoor was set in the crown of Queen Alexandra and then transferred to the crown of Queen Mary in 1911 and finally reset in the crown of the Queen Mother in 1937 for her coronation as consort.

The diamond had passed between various factions in Asia before allegedly being ceded to Queen Victoria as a spoil of war following the British annexation of Punjab in 1849 during the reign of Maharaja Duleep Singh.

The diamond is thought to have been mined from the former Kollur mine in Andhra Pradesh, which produced many large diamonds in the 15th century.

Since it passed from male to male in lots of bloodshed and fighting, it earned a reputation of bringing bad luck to men and has only been worn by women since it reached the UK.

Ever since Independence, India has called for the return of the Kohinoor but Britain has refused to return it saying it belongs to Britain.