Demands are being made in South Africa for the world’s largest known clear-cut diamond to be returned following the Queen’s death.
The Great Star of Africa, or Cullinan l, is part of a larger diamond and gifted to the Royal Family after it was mined in South Africa in 1905 - when the country was under British rule.
Currently the massive diamond is held on the end of a sceptre that belonged to the Queen.
Now since the death of the Queen last week there has been growing calls in South Africa for the diamond to be returned as they believe it is theirs.
News of the Queen’s death has hit the headlines around the world with many people rushing to pay their respects and express their sadness.
Yet in some countries it has also led to discussions about the role of the monarchy and the part it has 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.
“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” he said, reported timeslive.co.za.
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.
