Ideally, death should be a time of peace for many, but the British royal family, which has just lost its matriarch Queen Elizabeth II, isn’t getting that peace from many places around the world.
Following the queen’s death, there has been a great clamour for the royal family to return what is today known as the Cullinan diamond, which was mined in and then stolen from South Africa. Also called the Great Star of Africa, the diamond is said to be the largest and most expensive in the world, with a current market value of $400 million.
Some royal insiders have tried to explain the diamond away as a gift and a symbol of friendship. Still, critics counter that it cannot possibly be, because Africa was under colonial rule at the time and not on equal footing with the British crown.
In South Africa, where the diamond was mined and then stolen, the locals are actually celebrating the queen’s death and even mocking her with memes, calling her “LDN Gogo.”
Indians are not left out. Most were equally mordant in their description of the queen, bidding the royal family to return the Kohinoor Diamond back to India.
But will the royal family yield to pressure?
