NYC Mayor Mamdani says he would ask King Charles to return Koh-i-Noor diamond

Debate over Koh-i-Noor revived during King Charles’ US visit. Illustration/Uday Mohite

New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said he would encourage King Charles III to return the Koh-i-Noor diamond.
"If I was to speak to the King separately from that, I would probably encourage him to return the Koh-i-Noor diamond,"

Mamdani said at a press conference Wednesday before he met the British monarch in the city later in the day. Mamdani was asked what he would say to the King, who visited New York City on the second day of his State Visit to the US. Hours later, Mamdani met King Charles at the 9/11 memorial, but it was not confirmed whether he discussed the Koh-i-Noor issue with the British monarch.

King Charles and Queen Camilla visited the 9/11 Memorial to pay their respects to the victims of the terror attack. King Charles addressed a joint meeting of the US Congress Tuesday, as he and Queen Camilla were honoured at a state dinner hosted by President Donald Trump and First Lady Melania Trump in the White House.

They also visited Harlem Grown, a network of urban farms supporting children and families in Upper Manhattan. The 105.6-carat Koh-i-Noor diamond was given to Queen Victoria in 1849 by Maharajah Duleep Singh. It was worn by the Queen Mother on her crown in 1937.

India has indicated that it will continue to explore ways to bring back the Koh-i-noor from the United Kingdom. The country has been raising the matter from time to time with the UK government and said it will continue to explore ways and means for obtaining a "satisfactory resolution of the matter."

The Koh-i-Noor diamond is currently displayed at the Tower of London. The diamond, set within the Crown of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, has "many previous owners, including Mughal Emperors, Shahs of Iran, Emirs of Afghanistan, and Sikh Maharajas," according to the Historic Royal Palaces charity.

The 34-year-old Indian-descent Mamdani is the son of renowned filmmaker Mira Nair and Columbia University professor Mahmood Mamdani. He is the first Muslim, the first Indian-origin, the first born in Africa, and the youngest one in more than a century to become the Mayor of New York.

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