The royal family is accused of stealing the 500-carat Great Star diamond that can be found on Queen Elizabeth's royal scepter from South Africa.
Was The 500-Carat Great Star Diamond Stolen Or Not?
According to Radar Online, South African activists have been demanding for the 500-carat Great Star diamond to not only be returned to their country but also to have it placed inside a museum where they believe it belongs.
"The Cullinan Diamond must be returned to South Africa with immediate effect. The minerals of our country and other countries continue to benefit Britain at the expense of our people," activist Thanduxolo Sabelo said.
Leigh-Ann Mathys, a national spokeswoman for the Economic Freedom Fighters, also told CNN that the late Queen Elizabeth flaunted the diamonds throughout her life. But it's now time for everything that was stolen from them to be returned.
"The late Queen of England has flaunted these [diamonds] for over half a century. Our call is for repatriations for all colonial theft, of which the theft of the Great Star of Africa is a part. We don't call for its return, as this implies that there was a valid agreement in terms of which the British royal family borrowed the diamond. It is in their possession purely as a result of colonial tenacities that suffocated natives in this country and elsewhere," she said.
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500-Carat Great Star Diamond Was A Gift To King Edward VII In 1907
However, the Royal Collection Trust, which is in charge of overseeing the royal family's collection, stressed that the 500-carat Great Star diamond wasn't stolen from South Africa. Rather, it was a gift given to King Edward VII in 1907.
The original gift weighed more than 3,000 carats. But King Edward sent the original diamond to the Royal Ascher in 1908 to be cleft. It was then cut into nine large stones and 96 smaller pieces.
Queen Elizabeth's 500-Carat Great Star Diamond Sparks Debate After Her Passing
However, Everisto Benyera, a professor of African politics at the University of South Africa, begged to differ.
"Our narrative is that the whole Transvaal and Union of South Africa governments and the concomitant mining syndicates were illegal. Receiving a stolen diamond does not exonerate the receiver. The Great Star is a blood diamond ... The private [mining] company, the Transvaal government, and the British Empire were part of a larger network of coloniality," he said.
The ongoing petition has already earned thousands of likes from supporters.
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