South Africans Intensify Call For UK To Return Diamonds Set In Crown Jewels

South Africans are increasingly calling on Britain's royal family to return the world's largest known clear-cut diamond.

The diamond is currently set in the royal sceptre that King Charles III will wield on Saturday during his coronation.

According to legend, the 530-carat diamond was discovered in South Africa in 1905 and delivered to the British crown by the colonial authority of the country, which was then under British rule.

Some South Africans are calling for the return of the diamond amid ongoing discussions about returning stolen artwork and artefacts from colonial times.

"The diamond must be brought to South Africa. It must be a symbol of our pride, tradition, and culture," said Mothusi Kamanga, a Johannesburg lawyer and activist who has promoted an online petition with over 8,000 signatures calling for the diamond's repatriation, according to Reuters.

"I believe that, in general, Africans are realizing that decolonization entails not only granting people certain freedoms but also reclaiming what has been taken from us."

The diamond in the sceptre, known as Cullinan I, was cut from the Cullinan diamond, a 3,100-carat stone mined near Pretoria.

Cullinan II, a lesser diamond cut from the same stone, is put in the Imperial State Crown, which British monarchs wear on formal occasions.

The Cullinan diamond was delivered to King Edward VII (the British king at the time) in 1907, two years after its discovery at a private mine in South Africa's old Transvaal region, according to the Royal Collection Trust, which manages the royal collection of the British royal family.

The Cape Town Diamond Museum houses a facsimile of the entire Cullinan diamond, which is about the size of a man's fist.