King Charles Coronation: From absence of Kohinoor to Royals' close India connect

London/Hyderabad: Celebrations rent the air, ahead of the Coronation of King Charles III which will happen at the Westminster Abbey. For the ceremony, the crown which the King would wear has been resized to fit him. As for us Indians, the event will not feature Kohinoor diamond- embedded traditional crown. In a big departure from tradition, it has been confirmed that Queen Camilla will not be using the traditional crown embedded with the Kohinoor. 

According to Anita Anand, who co-authored ‘KOH-I-NOOR: THE HISTORY OF THE WORLD’S MOST INFAMOUS DIAMOND’, the decision attests to the new reality. Decision not to use it reflects this new reality that we are in, where people are looking back at colonialism and what colonialism meant to both Great Britain but also to countries that were colonised, she said.

Queen Victoria, who was the Empress of India during the Raj, was the first British monarch to include an Indian escort at all her major royal ceremonies. 200 years on that history would be reflected in the ceremonies on May 6. Shrabani Basu, author of ‘VICTORIA AND ABDUL: THE EXTRAORDINARY TRUE STORY OF THE QUEEN’S CLOSEST CONFIDANT' said: "In every ceremony that she (Queen Victoria) had, whether it was her Golden Jubilee or her Diamond Jubilee, she would make sure there was an Indian escort that would lead the procession out of Buckingham Palace, towards Westminster." (with PTI inputs)