Buckingham Palace averted Koh-i-Noor ‘side story’ for King Charles's coronation, says royal expert

An expert says the “palace was conscious about the Koh-i-Noor perhaps being controversial” and decided to do the “safe and sensible” thing by forgoing the traditional crown for Queen Camilla.

Buckingham Palace would have been conscious of the potential for controversy around the colonial era Koh-i-Noor diamond claimed by India and averted it from becoming a side story of King Charles III and Queen Camilla’s coronation ceremony next month, a royal expert has said.

Camilla Tominey is the Associate Editor of The Daily Telegraph and has an inside track into the British royal family as the newspaper’s royal expert.

In an interview with PTI, she reflected upon the significance of Camilla choosing to forgo the traditional crown used for the monarch’s partner as the “consort crown” due to it being embedded with the Kohinoor – also known as Koh-i-Noor. Among the crown jewels unveiled by the palace for the coronation ceremony on May 6, it was confirmed that Queen Mary’s Crown has been chosen by Camilla.

“I think the palace were conscious about the Koh-i-Noor perhaps being controversial and therefore have decided that they don’t want there to be a side story about the provenance of these diamonds,” said Ms. Tominey.

“Basically, [the palace have] decided to do the safe and sensible thing, to not have a separate debate about the jewels in the crown,” noted Ms. Tominey.

Earlier this month, the palace said that minor changes and additions to Queen Mary’s Crown are being undertaken, such as the inclusion of the Cullinan III, IV and V diamonds which were part of Queen Elizabeth II’s personal jewellery collection for many years. The design has been inspired by Queen Alexandra’s Crown of 1902 – which was originally encrusted with the Kohinoor, which now sits in the crown of the Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, the mother of Queen Elizabeth II, since 1937.

Last month, Historic Royal Palaces, the charity that manages Britain’s palaces, said that the infamous diamond will instead be part of a new Jewel House exhibition at the Tower of London classed as a “symbol of conquest” for the first time.