New York’s left-wing mayor Zohran Mamdani has called on King Charles to return the Koh-i-Noor diamond. The British nabbed the gem from India in the 1840s. They have a bit of habit of that sort of thing, if you haven’t noticed… The diamond currently sits in the Queen Mother’s crown.

Mamdani was asked at a press conference on 20 April what he would say to the king if they met in private. He told reporters:

If I were to ‌speak to the King separately from [the purpose of the event], I would probably encourage him to return the Koh-i-Noor diamond.

The two later came face-to-face at an event for 9/11 victims. They appeared friendly:

Charles met Zohran Mamdani, and the press started going mad.

They had to be moved back. pic.twitter.com/Ell2pvWxjX

— Mukhtar (@I_amMukhtar) April 29, 2026

Far-right Reform UK wally Zia Yusuf later posted on X that the diamond would stay where it is:

This beautiful diamond is currently on display in the Tower of London

That is where it will stay.

Mamdani may be looting New Yorkers, but he will have no joy in Britain.

Unless he retracts this insult to our King, as Home Secretary I would ban him from entering Britain. https://t.co/gEaDSw839R

— Zia Yusuf (@ZiaYusufUK) April 29, 2026

Not that either King Charles or Zohran Mamdani are likely to care what the eternally clout-chasing Yusuf thinks – if they know who he is at all…

Yusuf also snarked that Mamdani:

may be looting New Yorkers, but he will have no joy in Britain.

This nonsensical claim appears to be a reference to Mamdani doing public good with public money, like providing free childcare, affordable public transport and forcing parasite landlords to fulfil their obligations.

Though it is understandable why that sort of behaviour might upset Reform UK  – a party which is just several wealthy oil and gas interests hiding in a big trench coat.

As the Good Law Project kindly pointed out on 30 April:

What these extraordinary numbers make clear is that Reform is less a political party and more a very highly paid public-facing lobby group for oil and gas interests https://t.co/Nn6nZncjXb

— Good Law Project (@GoodLawProject) April 30, 2026

Mamdani’s anti-imperialist roots

Mamdani, of course, comes from a lineage of strident anti-colonialists. He makes no secret of the fact. His middle name is ‘Kwame’:

after Kwame Nkrumah, a Pan-African icon and the first democratic president of Ghana.

He was born in Kampala, Uganda. His father, Mahmood Mamdani is:

a well-known academic, who has written extensively on colonialism and empire, was born in Bombay (now Mumbai), India, in 1946, to Tanzanian-Muslim parents with roots in Gujarat, India.

And his mother is the renowned filmmaker Mira Nair, whose work challenges conventional views on race, gender and class”:

When Mamdani was seven, his family moved to New York City. Zohran has said that his formative years in Africa helped shape his sense of self and identity, as well as his ability to navigate multiple cultures.

Like Mamdani himself:

Both of his parents are pro-Palestinian.

Rooted in left-wing politics, Mamdani is almost the antithesis of King Charles and the Royal family. And one can only imagine that Zia Yusuf’s brazen toadying to a long-dead British empire would raise a few eyebrows in the Mamdani household.

King Charles’ trip, during which he also met US president Donald Trump and, erm, “attended a block party“, ends on 30 April.

Featured image via Wikipedia

By Joe Glenton

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