What is the Koh-i-Noor diamond, how much is it worth and why is it so controversial?

This would encourage King Charles to return the 105.6-carat Koh-i-Noor diamond to India, New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said on Wednesday.

Mr Mamdani made the statement during King Charles and Queen Camilla’s state visit to the US, on their third day in New York.

“If I had spoken to the King separately from this, I would probably have encouraged him to return the Koh-i-Noor Diamond,” the mayor told reporters ahead of his meeting with Charles.

Mamdani, who is Indian American, was speaking ahead of a ceremony honoring the victims of the deadly attacks of September 11, 2001. Although Mamdani later met King Charles at the commemoration event, it remains unclear whether the issue was raised directly in the talks.

Buckingham Palace declined to comment and Mamdani’s office did not confirm any discussions on the matter.

Mr Mamdani’s remarks have once again revived the long-running debate over the Koh-i-Noor diamond, which India has repeatedly called on Britain to return.

The Koh-i-Noor diamond has had a prominent place among Britain’s crown jewels since 1911, when it was placed in the shape of a cross in front of Queen Mary’s crown. Later in 1937, when the massive diamond was moved to the Queen Mother’s crown for the coronation of King George VI, it was replaced by a replica.

Queen Camilla avoided controversy over the Koh-i-Noor by choosing to use Queen Mary’s tiara, which was later altered to remove the replica. In doing so, she became the first consort to reuse the crown at a coronation since the 18th century.

The Queen Mother’s tiara, with its purple velvet headpiece and ermine trim, was made in 1937 for Queen Elizabeth, wife of King George VI, to be worn at her husband’s coronation on 12 May 1937.

It is loaded with 2,800 diamonds set in a platinum bezel. The band consists of alternating clusters of diamonds forming crosses and rectangles, surrounded by a single row of brilliant-cut diamonds.

The crown also features large diamonds, including one given to Queen Victoria by the Sultan of Türkiye in 1856.

But the most controversial diamond is the Koh-i-Noor diamond, set in the front cross of the crest with a removable platinum mount.

The Koh-i-Noor diamond was mined in India and is one of the largest cut diamonds in the world, weighing 105.6 carats (21.12 g). It is part of the British Crown Jewels.

The first written record of the Koh-i-Noor diamond appeared in 1628 during the Mughal Empire. The Diamond, along with the Timurid Ruby, was placed in the Peacock Throne of Mughal ruler Shah Jahan.

It was later acquired by the Persian ruler Nader Shah in 1739 when he invaded Delhi and plundered tons of treasure, including the Peacock Throne.

According to the book by historians Anita Anand and William Dalrymple, the Koh-i-Noor diamond continued to circulate among various rulers in Central Asia and eventually fell into the possession of Sikh ruler Ranjit Singh in 1813. Koh-i-Noor: The History of the World’s Most Infamous Apple.

Singh returned the diamond to India and died in 1839. Meanwhile, the British East India Company expanded its control over the Indian subcontinent and set its sights on the Koh-i-Noor diamond; because owning it would be a symbol of “power and colonial superiority”.

However, it was only in 1849 that the British captured this coveted stone. During this time they had imprisoned Rani Jindan, Singh’s youngest wife and mother of the late Maharaja’s 10-year-old son, Duleep Singh.

After years of violence, he and his son realized that they were the only ones left standing in the way of claiming the throne of Punjab.

According to Anand and Dalrymple, the British forced Duleep to sign a legal document amending the Treaty of Lahore. Signing this meant that Duleep would cede ownership of the Koh-i-Noor to the British and cede all claims to sovereignty.

This is how the diamond came into the hands of Queen Victoria. It was exhibited at the 1851 Great Exhibition in London, although people were not impressed by its simplicity.

In response, Victoria’s husband, Prince Albert, had the Koh-i-Noor recut and polished. In the process, it became much smaller, halved, but shined even brighter.

The stone was worn as a brooch by Victoria, but was later placed in the crown of Edward VII’s wife, Queen Alexandra, and then in the crown of George V’s wife, Queen Mary. It was later reinserted into the Queen Mother’s crown.

The Queen Mother’s crown was placed over her coffin at her lying in state and at her funeral in 2002. Since then, her crown has been on public display at the Crown Jewels exhibition in the Tower of London.

The Koh-i-noor diamond is believed to be worth between US$140 million and US$400 million, but its actual value is unknown and is said to be priceless.

The Indian government requested the British to return the Koh-i-Noor diamond to them several times in the years after the country gained independence in 1947.

The last request was made in 2016 and he stated that he would make every effort to bring back the diamond.

Royal palaces website He makes no mention of the disputes over ownership of the diamond, saying only that the diamond is “full of legends and anecdotes.”

The description of Koh-i-Noor is: “Discovered in 15”^ThisIn century India, it was passed from hand to hand from unfortunate men until it gained a reputation for bringing bad luck to men. It was presented to Queen Victoria in 1849.”

Anand told Smithsonian Magazine The date of the Crown Jewels exhibition in 2017 needs to be made clearer.

“I would really like to have a clear sign in the exhibition. People are taught that this is a gift from India to Britain. I would like to see the date written on the side of the diamond,” he said.