Controversially, the 75-year-old went against her mother-in-law’s – the late Queen Elizabeth II – wishes; the Queen wanted her to be known as Queen Consort Camilla when her husband of 18 years Charles was crowned King.
Instead, Camilla will now be known as Queen Camilla, a radical shift from the original title bestowed upon her of ‘Princess Consort’ upon her marriage to the then Prince Charles in 2005. But in true royal fashion, the controversy doesn’t stop there! During the ceremony, Camilla wore Queen Mary’s coronation headpiece from 1911.
This was the first time in recent history that an existing crown was used for the coronation of a consort instead of a new commission being made, in the interests of sustainability and efficiency.
But, whilst Camilla is sure to shine much as Queen Mary did, there will be one major difference. Originally the crown was set with three large diamonds named Cullinan III, Cullinan IV, and the controversial Koh-i-nûr.
But due to the bloody history of the Koh-i-nûr diamond, it was removed from the headpiece and replaced by the Cullinan V diamond, according to the NY Post.
Seized by the East India Company in 1849, it was soon presented to Queen Victoria who then chose to add it to her collection of Crown Jewels, previously choosing to wear the diamond as a brooch. To this day, it is renowned as one of the world’s biggest-known cut diamonds.
But as time has passed, India, Afghanistan, Pakistan and even the Taliban have all laid claim to the diamond, imploring the United Kingdom to return the diamond, claiming it “brings back painful memories of the colonial past.”
The British government however has insisted that the prized gem was obtained legally under the terms of the Last Treaty of Lahore, Article III of the treaty reading: “The gem called the Koh-i-nûr, which was taken from Shah Sooja-ool-moolk by Maharajah Ranjeet Singh, shall be surrendered by the Maharajah of Lahore to the Queen of England.”
And following the annexation of India from the British Empire in 1947, their stance has only firmed.
After first making an appearance in the crown of Queen Alexandra, and then in the crown of Queen Mary, the diamond came to its current home in 1937 as part of the crown worn by the Queen Mother where it was displayed front and center. Its last public appearance was in 2002 as it rested atop the coffin of the Queen Mother for her funeral.
Whilst it is unlikely that the monarchy will return the shiniest jewel in its collection of rare treasures to its historical home, it is a step in the right direction for Camilla to opt out of including it in her coronation crown.
But despite making a conscious effort to not feature the blood diamond on her crown, Camilla still choose to include the equally controversial 22.48-carat pendant known as the Lahore Diamond in her coronation necklace – the same necklace that Queen Elizabeth II wore at her 1953 coronation.
Made from 25 individual graduated brilliant diamonds taken from old garter badges and even the hilt of a ceremonial sword, the necklace truly is fit for royalty, the Lahore Diamond being the shining centerpiece.
Host of ABC podcast Stuff The British Stole Marc Fennell couldn’t believe his eyes when he saw that Camilla had chosen to wear the blood diamond around her neck.
“They made such a big deal about taking the Koh-i-nûr out of Camilla’s crown…they thought we wouldn’t notice that this diamond was taken from literally the same looting session!” Marc exclaimed on his social media.
“Like, the cynicism of swapping the high profile Koh-I-noor but hoping no one notices (or googles) this one is kinda shameless!” “Empire going to empire I guess.”