NYC Mayor Tells King Charles: Return Kohinoor to India

NYC Mayor Zohran Mamdani said he would urge King Charles III to return the Kohinoor diamond to India if they had a private conversation during the monarch's visit to New York. Mamdani made this statement at a press conference on Wednesday before attending a 9/11 Memorial ceremony in Lower Manhattan where he met with the king and Queen Camilla. The royal couple are in the US for a four-day visit that included an address to Congress, a private meeting with Donald Trump, and a formal White House dinner. The Kohinoor diamond, currently housed in the Tower of London, has been a source of dispute between England and India for decades. India has repeatedly sought its return, citing its removal during British colonial rule, while other countries including Iran and Pakistan have also laid claim to the stone. Mamdani's stance on the diamond is influenced by his democratic socialist beliefs and his early exposure to his academic father's thinking on the effects of British colonial rule. A spokesperson for the royal family declined to comment on the mayor's remarks. As part of their New York stop, King Charles and Queen Camilla attended the 9/11 memorial ceremony and were expected to meet families of victims of the attacks, which killed nearly 2,800 people in the city. Mamdani stated that his focus at the ceremony would be to honor the more than 3,000 New Yorkers who were killed. The New York visit followed a busy day in Washington, where the king addressed Congress and met with US tech industry leaders.