New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani said on Wednesday he encourages Britain’s King Charles to return the Koh-i-Noor Diamond, with his comments coming during the British monarch’s ongoing U.S. visit. “If I were to speak to the king separately from that, I would probably encourage him to return the Koh-i-Noor Diamond,” Mamdani, who is Indian American, said when asked at a press conference hours before a ceremony that commemorated victims of the deadly September 11, 2001, attacks. Later in the day, the king spoke with Mamdani at the ceremony. Buckingham Palace declined to comment.
India has previously repeatedly demanded that Britain return the 105-carat diamond.
Britain’s then colonial governor-general of India arranged for the huge diamond to be presented to Queen Victoria in 1850 after the East India Company had annexed the region of Punjab in 1849 and taken the diamond from a deposed Indian leader.
Charles on Wednesday commemorated victims of the September 11, 2001, attack on New York City, laying a floral bouquet at the memorial where the World Trade Center’s twin towers once stood.
🇺🇸🇬🇧 Mamdani publicly demanded King Charles return the Kohinoor Diamond during the royal visit.
NYC has a historic budget crisis, a transit system on life support, and a housing emergency.
Mamdani is focused on 1849 colonial loot.pic.twitter.com/Vadcbpjrn9 https://t.co/9nuGb4iEQM
— Mario Nawfal (@MarioNawfal) April 29, 2026
India received independence from British rule in 1947. The British colonization of India and widespread atrocities committed against Indians during that period remain sensitive issues in the country.
India has previously said the diamond was a “valued piece of art with strong roots in our nation’s history.” The diamond’s possession by the British is seen by many Indians as a symbol of colonial atrocities during British rule.
The diamond has been previously owned by India’s Mughal emperors, shahs of Iran, emirs of Afghanistan, and Sikh maharajas, according to the Historic Royal Palaces charity.
King Charles and Queen Camilla commemorated victims of the September 11, 2001, al Qaeda attack on New York City on Wednesday, laying a floral bouquet at the memorial where the World Trade Center’s twin towers once stood.
The royal visit to lower Manhattan came at a time of tensions between Britain and the U.S., with President Donald Trump having criticized Prime Minister Keir Starmer for the UK to declining to join the U.S. and Israel’s war with Iran.
Michael Bloomberg, a former New York City mayor, walked the king and queen to one of the reflecting pools that outline the footprints of the 110-story towers destroyed when al Qaeda militants flew two planes into the skyscrapers.
Charles laid a bouquet of white lilacs, daffodils and peonies on the bronze parapet surrounding the pool, engraved with the names of those killed in the attack.
(With inputs from Reuters)
Zubair Amin is a Senior Journalist at NewsX with over seven years of experience in reporting and editorial work. He has written for leading national and international publications, including Foreign Policy Magazine, Al Jazeera, The Economic Times, The Indian Express, The Wire, Article 14, Mongabay, News9, among others. His primary focus is on international affairs, with a strong interest in US politics and policy. He also writes on West Asia, Indian polity, and constitutional issues. Zubair tweets at zubaiyr.amin
