The conspicuous absence of the Kohinoor, claimed by India, from the historic Coronation ceremony of King Charles here in London on April 29 reflects a new reality of looking back at Britain's colonial past and to learn more about the truth of the Raj, feels the British Indian co-author behind a definitive book on the infamous diamond. Anita Anand, who co-authored 'Koh-i-Noor: The History of the World's Most Infamous Diamond' with historian-author William Dalrymple, said Queen Camilla's decision to use the Queen Mary Crown without the Kohinoor at her Westminster Abbey crowning is a direct result of the sensitivity that exists around colonialism in modern-day Britain.
Traditionally, the diamond has featured at coronations in the crown of the monarch's consort – last worn by Elizabeth, later the Queen Mother of Queen Elizabeth II, at the coronation of King George VI in May 1937.
