Daily Herald Archive/National Science & Media Museum/SSPL via Getty; Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty The Queen Mother and Queen Consort Camilla
Queen Camilla and King Charles may opt for different royal regalia at his May 6 coronation.
Queen Camilla will be also crowned during the service when King Charles is coronated, Buckingham Palace confirmed earlier this week. It has been suggested that Camilla, 75, may wear a crown made for Charles’ grandmother Queen Elizabeth (later known as the Queen Mother to avoid confusion when her daughter, Queen Elizabeth II, became monarch) for King George VI’s 1937 coronation. However, it contains one of the most famous — and most controversial — diamonds in the Crown Jewels.
The Koh-i-Nûr diamond is the centerpiece of the Queen Mother’s famous crown, but it is also at the center of an international row as demands grow in India for it to be returned. It was initially acquired by the then-East India Company and brought to Britain, where it ended up as part of Queen Victoria’s collection. It is also subject to ownership claims in Pakistan and Afghanistan.
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Daily Herald Archive/National Science & Media Museum/SSPL via Getty The Queen Mother and Princess Elizabeth on Coronation Day
In India, a diplomatic row over the crown is set to overshadow the coronation plans. A source speaking for the Bharatiya Janata Party told The Telegraph, “The coronation of Camilla and the use of the crown jewel Koh-i-Nûr brings back painful memories of the colonial past.”
“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,” the source said. “The coronation of the new Queen Camilla and the use of the Koh-i-Nûr do transport a few Indians back to the days of the British Empire in India.”
Before the Queen Mother’s coronation crown, the Koh-i-Nûr diamond also featured in the coronation crown of Queen Alexandra, wife to King Edward VII, who was coronated at Westminster Abbey in 1902. It was also used in a different crown for Queen Mary, the wife of King George V, for his coronation ceremony in 1911.
Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty The Queen Mother’s coffin 2002
The 1937 crown is quite a spectacular piece — lighter in weight as it’s made from platinum, it features 2,800 diamonds in total. In addition to the Koh-i-Nûr diamond, which sits in a detachable mount, the crown also features a large diamond given to Queen Victoria by the Sultan of Turkey in 1856 in gratitude for British support during the Crimean War. The Queen Mother wore it without its arches at the State Opening of Parliament during the reign of King George VI and again at the coronation of her daughter in 1953. It was placed on top of her coffin when she died in 2002.
For sentimental purposes, it would certainly make sense for Camilla to wear the historic piece when she is crowned alongside Charles in May 2023. The King was very close to his grandmother, and several reports have indicated that this particular crown has always been earmarked for Camilla to wear.
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Universal History Archive/Universal Images Group via Getty King George VI and Queen Elizabeth on the day of their coronation, 12 May, 1937, with Princess Margaret and Princess Elizabeth
As the gem is completely removable (as is the velvet cap usually worn for the coronation service), it is an option that King Charles and Queen Camilla might choose to remove the controversial gem completely or opt for a different crown completely.
Buckingham Palace has declined to comment, but PEOPLE understands that no decision has been made.
