Queen Elizabeth II death: Will Koh-i-Noor be returned to India?

In the wake of the passing of Queen Elizabeth II, audiences at the funeral have been dazzled by images of the crown of the Queen Mother, which is on display in the Tower of London.Many Indians took to social media to demand the return of the Kohinoor diamond, one of the diamonds set in late monarch’s crown.

The 105.6-carat oval-shaped Koh-i-Noor, which means “mountain of light” in Persian and is worth $591 million, is believed to have been found in the Kollur mines in the modern-day Indian state of Andhra Pradesh between the 12th and 14th centuries, during the Kakatiya dynasty rule.

It travelled through several Indian dynasties including the Turco-Afghan Khilji, the Mughals, the Persians, the Afghans and the Sikh rulers before ending up with the British colonial empire and is kept at the Tower of London.

The researcher believes that the stone was acquired by the British after 10-year-old Punjab Maharaja Duleep Singh – the last ruler of the Sikh Empire – surrendered his state to the British during the Anglo-Sikh War.

The gem was presented to Queen Victoria and her consort, Prince Albert, asked for it to be recut, and it was then set in the crowns of Queen Alexandra and Queen Mary before being placed on the Queen Mother’s crown in 1937. The diamond is next tipped to be worn by Queen Consort Camilla on special occasions like the coronation of King Charles III, then Kate Middleton if or when she becomes queen.