Buckingham Palace is conscious that the Kohinoor diamond and its use in King Charles’ coronation ceremony might be very contentious, a royal expert said. Camilla Tominey reflected upon the significance of Queen Consort Camilla choosing to not use the traditional crown which is embedded with the Kohinoor. Earlier, it was confirmed that Queen Mary’s Crown has been chosen by King Charles’ wife Camilla for the ceremony.
“I think the palace were conscious about the Kohinoor perhaps being controversial and therefore have decided that they don’t want there to be a side story about the provenance of these diamonds,” Camilla Tominey said.
“Basically, [the palace have] decided to do the safe and sensible thing, to not have a separate debate about the jewels in the crown,” the expert added.
Kohinoor -meaning mountain of light in Persian- came into Queen Victoria’s possession from the treasury of Maharaja Ranjit Singh before she was to be crowned empress of India. Camilla’s choice of Queen Mary’s Crown marks the first instance of an existing crown being used for the coronation.
The grand ceremony has also made a series of departures from tradition as it aims to incorporate modern elements into the ceremony. It was reported that some multi-faith elements will be included in the event as House of Lords peers of Hindu, Muslim, Jewish and Sikh faiths will carry key pieces of Coronation regalia on the day at the Abbey.
“I think the King is wanting it to be as diverse and inclusive as possible and that means it isn’t just a service that represents people of faith but also those of none, and those of different faiths. Throughout the course of his time as heir apparent he has done quite a lot on multi-faith. He’s visited different places of worship, he’s ingratiated himself with different religious communities and so it’s not really surprising that he’s decided that the Coronation should reflect that,” Camilla Tominey said.
