Mamdani criticised for ‘rude’ welcome to King Charles, Koh-i-Noor comment

NEW YORK City Mayor Zohran Mamdani is facing criticism for extending a “rude” welcome to King Charles and for comments about the Koh-i-Noor diamond.

Hours before meeting King Charles and Queen Camilla on Wednesday at the 9/11 Memorial in Manhattan, Mamdani said he would encourage the British monarch to return the Koh-i-Noor diamond.

At a press conference, when asked what he would say to the king, Mamdani said he would attend a wreath-laying ceremony with other elected officials, including New York State Governor Kathy Hochul and New Jersey Governor Mikie Sherrill.

"And the focus of that wreath-laying is to honour the more than 3,000 New Yorkers who were killed in the horrific terror attacks of September 11. And that's what I'm really looking to do at that event.”

When pressed further, Mamdani said, “If I was to speak to the king separately from that, I would probably encourage him to return the Koh-i-Noor diamond.”

The New York Post Editorial Board described Mamdani’s welcome to King Charles as “rude”.

“Of course Zohran Mamdani couldn't manage a decent welcome for the king of England: That would've required maturity, grace and humility that our mayor just doesn't have,” the editorial said.

It said "Mamdani did the absolute minimum" to welcome King Charles III to New York, adding that the mayor agreed “belatedly” to "just one brief meeting with the monarch, at the 9/11 Memorial” even though the royal visited several sites across the city.

“Showing respect for the king is showing respect for Britain, yet Mamdani couldn't resist showing disrespect,” the editorial said. It also referred to earlier visits by members of the British Royal Family, including a “ticker-tape parade” organised for Queen Elizabeth in 1957 by then mayor Robert Wagner.

“But Mamdani couldn't bother with any such gestures; he couldn't even set aside his obsession with colonialism, telling reporters he hoped to push Charles ‘to return the Koh-i-Noor diamond', a 105-carat gem originally from India and now on display at the Tower of London,” the editorial said.

“Mamdani's inexperience is no excuse for letting his personal passions blind him to the duties of his high office,” the editorial said, calling out his "addiction to performative displays”.

“At best, his youth means there's a chance he'll learn from his graceless mistakes, and do a bit better the next time he's called to represent all the people of New York City,” the editorial added.

Another New York Post article said Mamdani had acted “like a petulant teen” in front of the king and queen.

On Mamdani's comment about the Koh-i-Noor diamond, the article said the king's visit to honour victims of the 9/11 terror attack "was not an opportunity for a freshman barb on colonialism, and to imply that this crown jewel belongs to India".

“Anyway, what is Mamdani's standing to demand the diamond — has he appointed himself a representative of India's government? It wasn't just the mayor's rudeness, but his tone and demeanour. Mamdani did his best version of a petulant teen betraying intolerable boredom,” the article added.

King Charles and Queen Camilla visited the 9/11 Memorial in the city and paid their respects to victims of the terror attack.

They also visited Harlem Grown, a network of urban farms supporting children and families in Upper Manhattan.

Mamdani met King Charles at the 9/11 memorial. A video of their interaction shared on social media showed the two men greeting each other briefly as King Charles met other New York officials, including Hochul.

A report in the New York Post quoted a City Hall spokesperson as saying that Mamdani and Charles “exchanged pleasantries” when they met at the 9/11 memorial. Mamdani left the event after an hour, the report said.

The 105.6-carat Koh-i-Noor diamond was given to Queen Victoria in 1849 by Maharajah Duleep Singh. It was worn by the Queen Mother on her crown in 1937.

India has previously indicated that it will continue to explore ways to bring back the Koh-i-Noor from the United Kingdom.

The Koh-i-Noor diamond is currently displayed at the Tower of London. The diamond, set within the Crown of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother, has "many previous owners, including Mughal Emperors, Shahs of Iran, Emirs of Afghanistan, and Sikh Maharajas”, according to the Historic Royal Palaces charity.

(With inputs from agencies)