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Meanwhile, Snopes investigated the claim that the Great Star of Africa was stolen. It concluded that \"would appear to be a matter of opinion.\"

According to Brittanica, the Cullinan diamond was purchased by the government in Transvaal, South Africa, where it was found, and \"presented (1907) to the reigning British monarch, King Edward VII.\"

The Royal Collection Trust states that the diamond was presented to the king \"as a symbolic gesture to heal the rift between Britain and South Africa after the Boer War.\"

The Kohinoor diamond passed through many hands over centuries. India, Pakistan, Iran and Afghanistan have all claimed ownership and called for the British to surrender it. In 2016, the Indian Culture Ministry said it would make \"all possible efforts\" to have the diamond returned to India.

Historic Royal Palaces, which oversees the Tower of London, notes that the diamond has a \"turbulent history\" and is a \"symbol of conquest.\"

\"The East India Company took the jewel from deposed Maharaja Duleep Singh in 1849, as a condition of the Treaty of Lahore,\" it said. \"The treaty specified that the jewel be surrendered to Queen Victoria.\"

The British government has rejected pleas to return the Kohinoor; during a 2010 trip to India, former Prime Minister David Cameron said it was \"staying put.\"

While London institutions like the British Museum and Horniman Museum wrestle with contested artifacts, some experts, including Dutt, do not see the royal establishment relinquishing its jewels anytime soon.

The royals \"would essentially be eviscerating themselves\" if they turned over the Kohinoor, he told Time.

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