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The 106-carat diamond, which currently sits in the Queen Mother's crown, has been the subject of an ownership dispute since 1849, when it came into the possession of Queen Victoria...
In some ways, it must be hard being a king. One day you’re being praised by the President of the United States, applauded by Congress and served ravioli with herbs and parmesan cheese on a golden platter. The next day you’re being practically ignored by the mayor of New York, who makes it clear that: a) he doesn’t want to meet you and b) you need to return the diamond your ancestors took from a 10-year-old Indian boy.
That’s the situation King Charles III found himself in on Wednesday in America’s largest city, as the monarch arrived to attend a wreath-laying ceremony in honour of the victims of 9/11, the Guardian reports.
The visit came a day after Charles won praise for his time in Washington, where his rapport with Donald Trump and a carefully crafted speech to Congress were seen as a step towards improving relations between the UK and the US.
But while Charles may have charmed Trump, who loved the prestige, the golden gifts and jokes about the Boston Tea Party probably didn’t sit well with Zohran Mamdani, the social Democrat mayor of New York City, who was elected on a promise to rein in the elites and whose father is one of the world’s leading experts on the effects of colonialism.
Mamdani made clear his desire to avoid Charles. His team has distanced themselves from the king since it was announced that the 9/11 ceremony would be held at the World Trade Center. “The mayor will not meet privately with King Charles. But he will attend the coronation ceremony today ,” the mayor’s spokesman, Joe Calvello, said in a brief statement Wednesday morning. Not exactly the kind of treatment Charles was used to, but as the day wore on, it seemed he might have been lucky to avoid a private meeting. Asked on Wednesday morning what he would say to Charles if they spent time together outside of the ceremony, Mamdani replied: "If I were to speak to the King apart from that, I would probably encourage him to return the Koh-i-Noor diamond. "
NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani says he would encourage King Charles III to return the 105.6 carat Kohinoor diamond to India pic.twitter.com/kTphY9bCoy
— non aesthetic things (@PicturesFoIder) April 30, 2026
The 106-carat diamond, which currently sits in the Queen Mother's crown, has been the subject of an ownership dispute since 1849, when it came into the possession of Queen Victoria.
Critics claim that the diamond, about the size of a hen's egg, was taken immorally from Duleep Singh, a 10-year-old maharajah whose kingdom was seized by the British Empire. Buckingham Palace declined to comment on whether the diamond would be returned.
At the World Trade Center, Charles and Camille were joined by Mike Bloomberg, who served as mayor of New York from 2002 to 2013, replacing Mamdani, as they toured the memorial pools and laid a wreath. Despite all the history with the diamond, when Charles met Mamdani, they seemed to have developed a certain intimacy, shaking hands and smiling during a brief conversation.
Following the shooting at the White House Correspondents’ Dinner over the weekend, security in lower Manhattan was heightened, with at least one subway station closed and access to buildings tightly controlled. Media access has been severely restricted, preventing Charles from facing questions about the friendship between his brother Andrew, the former prince, and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The royal may have been reminded of that connection during his visit to New York, though: Charles laid a wreath less than a mile from the Metropolitan Detention Center, where Epstein committed suicide in 2019 while awaiting trial, and a few subway stops south of Epstein’s former Manhattan home, where Mountbatten-Windsor was a frequent visitor.
The royal family is said to have paid £12m to Virginia Giuffre, a survivor of Epstein abuse, who brought a civil lawsuit against Mountbatten-Windsor, accusing him of sexual assault. Mountbatten-Windsor has denied responsibility and denied Giuffre's claims. Giuffre committed suicide last year.
Charles was criticised during his visit to the US for refusing to meet Epstein's victims and certainly did not mention the controversy as he left the 9/11 ceremony.
Then he was quickly transported to an afternoon urban gardening project with children in Harlem, while Camilla went to the New York Public Library, where she planned to donate a stuffed kangaroo to the library's Winnie the Pooh plush toy collection. As the royal moved through the city, New Yorkers were largely indifferent, except for being annoyed by the traffic jams.
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