A new exhibition at the Tower of London — backed by Buckingham Palace — about the crown jewels, which opened to directly follow the coronation of King Charles, states that the Kohinoor was “taken by” the East India Company and that Maharaja Duleep Singh was “compelled” to surrender it.
The new permanent Crown Jewels exhibition at the Tower of London, which opened on May 26, features an “origins room” which for the first time tells the history of a number of items in the Royal Collection, including the 105. 6 carat diamond which it describes as a“symbol of conquest”. “The Kohinoor diamond has had many previous owners, including Mughal Emperors, Shahs of Iran, Emirs of Afghanistan, and Sikh Maharajas,” the label in the origins room states. “The 1849 Treaty of Lahore compelled 10-year-old Maharaja Duleep Singh to surrender it to Queen Victoria, along with control of the Punjab. ”
A separate piece of new text about the Kohinoor on the Crown Jewels website states: “The East India Company took the jewel from deposed Maharaja Duleep Singh in 1849, as a condition of the Treaty of Lahore. ” The Crown Jewelsexhibition also features a film about the Kohinoor which “goes through its history using a graphic map. It shows where it was supposedly mined (the Golconda mines). . . . There is an image of Duleep Singh handing it over,” a spokesperson for Historic Royal Palaces said. Text overlay on the film states: “Taken by the East India Company. ” The label accompanying the Kohinoor, which is set in the Queen Mother’s Crown, has also changed. Now it describes it as a “symbol of conquest”.
“The Royal Collection Trust have approved the new wording,” the spokesperson told TOI. The transparency comes after Buckingham Palace announced that Queen Camilla would not be crowned with the Queen Mother Crown — set with the Kohinoor —at her coronation. She instead wore Queen Mary’s Crown.
The new permanent Crown Jewels exhibition at the Tower of London, which opened on May 26, features an “origins room” which for the first time tells the history of a number of items in the Royal Collection, including the 105. 6 carat diamond which it describes as a“symbol of conquest”. “The Kohinoor diamond has had many previous owners, including Mughal Emperors, Shahs of Iran, Emirs of Afghanistan, and Sikh Maharajas,” the label in the origins room states. “The 1849 Treaty of Lahore compelled 10-year-old Maharaja Duleep Singh to surrender it to Queen Victoria, along with control of the Punjab. ”
A separate piece of new text about the Kohinoor on the Crown Jewels website states: “The East India Company took the jewel from deposed Maharaja Duleep Singh in 1849, as a condition of the Treaty of Lahore. ” The Crown Jewelsexhibition also features a film about the Kohinoor which “goes through its history using a graphic map. It shows where it was supposedly mined (the Golconda mines). . . . There is an image of Duleep Singh handing it over,” a spokesperson for Historic Royal Palaces said. Text overlay on the film states: “Taken by the East India Company. ” The label accompanying the Kohinoor, which is set in the Queen Mother’s Crown, has also changed. Now it describes it as a “symbol of conquest”.
“The Royal Collection Trust have approved the new wording,” the spokesperson told TOI. The transparency comes after Buckingham Palace announced that Queen Camilla would not be crowned with the Queen Mother Crown — set with the Kohinoor —at her coronation. She instead wore Queen Mary’s Crown.