Zohran Mamdani Revealed What He'd Tell King Charles Privately, And The Conservatives Are Already Mad
by Natasha Jokic · BuzzFeedPosted 4 minutes ago
New York City Mayor Zohran Mamdani gave quite a hypothetical for what he'd tell King Charles, given the chance.
Earlier today at an unrelated press conference, Mamdani was asked what his approach would be if speaking to the British monarch during his ongoing visit to the US.
Mamdani replied, "Today, I'll be attending a wreath-laying alongside a number of other elected officials."
"The focus of that wreath-laying is to honor the more than 3,000 New Yorkers who were killed in the horrific terror attacks of September 11th. And that's what I'm really looking to do at that event," he added.
When pressed on whether he would say anything else if they had a "chat," Mamdani replied, "If I was to speak to the king separately from that, I would probably encourage him to return the Koh-i-Noor diamond."
If you don't know what the Koh-i-Noor diamond is, it's an almost-mythic, giant diamond from India that is now part of the British Crown Jewels. You can probably guess how the British acquired it (forcibly "gifted" — some would argue stolen — in the 19th century).
There have been many calls for the jewel to be returned to India*, especially after Queen Elizabeth II's death in 2022. Former British Prime Minister David Cameron was asked about the potential of returning the diamond on a trip to India in 2010 but declined, saying, "If you say yes to one, you suddenly find the British Museum would be empty."
*Other countries have argued that the diamond rightfully belongs to them, like Pakistan and Afghanistan.