South Africa is demanding that the world’s largest known clear-cut diamond be given back to the country following the Queen's death. The Great Star of Africa, or Cullinan l, is a piece of a larger diamond that was mined in South Africa while under British rule in 1905.
Two years later, the precious gem was gifted to King Edward Vll and is currently fixed to the end of a sceptre that belonged to the Queen Elizabeth II. Since the monarch's death last week, many South Africans have called for the diamond to be returned, according to the Mirror.
Whilst the Queen's passing has been mourned around the globe, it has also sparked discussions in some countries about the role of the royal family and the significant part it played in Britain’s colonial past. In South Africa, there has been plenty of debate in the media about who owns the Great Star of Africa as well as other precious stones that were mined in the country.
More extreme were the views of African Transformation Movement (ATM) MP Vuyo Zungula, who believes that South Africa should sever its Commonwealth ties and have a new constitution. According to timeslive.co.za, he said: “SA should now leave the Commonwealth, demand reparations for all the harm done by Britain, draft a new constitution based on the will of the people of SA not the British Magna Carta, and demand the return of all the gold, diamonds stolen by Britain."
Similarly former ANC KwaZulu-Natal provincial secretary, Thanduxolo Sabelo, said: “The minerals of our country and other countries continue to benefit Britain at the expense of our people. We remain in deep, shameful poverty, we remain with mass unemployment and rising levels of crime due to the oppression and devastation caused by her and her forefathers. The Cullinan Diamond must be returned to SA with immediate effect."
More than 6,000 people have signed a petition calling for the Great Star of Africa to be returned and put in a South African museum. South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa offered his condolences following the death of the Queen but many have said instead he should have called for the diamond to be returned.
But at the same time it is argued that the diamond was a gift to the Royal Family. It was given to King Edward Vll in 1907 and “sent to Asscher of Amsterdam to be cleft in 2008” said the Royal Collection Trust.
The Royal Asscher states that the Cullinan diamond was cut into nine large stones and 96 smaller pieces. The largest of the stones was named the Great Star of Africa by King Edward VII, who also named the second largest cut stone the Smaller Star of Africa.
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