EXCLUSIVE: Camilla may not be able to wear the Queen Mother's Crown at the coronation to avoid upsetting India and other nations because it contains the controversial 105-carat Koh-i-Noor diamond

yesterday that further details about the coronation – which will incorporate a mix of the traditional and the modern – would be announced in due course.

But the issue of regalia – particularly the Queen Consort's crown – is likely to prove a sticking point.

Queen Elizabeth (pictured here with the late Queen, her sister Margaret and King George VI) wore the crown without its arches at the State Openings of Parliament during the reign of King George VI, and again at the coronation of her daughter, Queen Elizabeth II, in 1953

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Queen Elizabeth (pictured here with the late Queen, her sister Margaret and King George VI) wore the crown without its arches at the State Openings of Parliament during the reign of King George VI, and again at the coronation of her daughter, Queen Elizabeth II, in 1953

The Koh-i-Noor diamond: A priceless gifted gem at the center of one of the world's most famous crowns - and an international row

The Koh-i-Noor, translated from Persian to English as the 'Mountain of Light, is one of the largest cut diamonds in the world.

It weighs an astonishing 21g (105carats). However it is significantly smaller than the world's largest cut diamond, the Cullinan I, also one of the famed Crown Jewels, which is mounted on the Sovereign's Scepter, which weighs 530.4 carats (106.08 g).

Though there is no official record of its original weight, the Koh-i-Noor may have weighed as much as 38.2g (186 carats), before it was cut, according to well-attested reports.

It is impossible to know exactly where the diamond came from, although there is no doubt that it was panned in India. The earliest reference appears to relate to a powerful Mughal ruler in 1628.

The first verifiable report of the diamond, however, comes from the 1740s when it was noted as being one of many stones on the Mughal Peacock Throne, which was looted by the Iranian Afsharid leader Nader Shah from Delhi.  

It returned to India in 1813 and become a potent symbol of power until it was acquired by Britain in 1849.

The diamond was given to Queen Victoria in 1855 by 10 year-old Duleep Singh, the last emperor of the Sikhs. 

Although much has been made of the fact that it was 'given' to this country, critics point out that this was only after the mother of the ten-year old heir to the Punjabi throne was held prisoner and he was forced to sign it away.

It then became a special possession of Queen Victoria and displayed at the 1851 Great Exhibition in London.

However, British people were reportedly unimpressed by the gem. 'Many people find a difficulty in bringing themselves to believe, from its external appearance, that it is anything but a piece of common glass,' wrote the Times in 1851. 

Since then it has become part of the Crown Jewels, and a point of dispute between the UK, India – as well as several other nations – ever since.

William Dalrymple, who co-wrote Koh-i-Noor: The History of the World's Most Infamous Diamond with colleague Anita Anand said: 'It is not a small sensitive issue in the eyes of India. It is a massive diplomatic grenade.'

'One of the reasons we wrote our book was that we don't believe anyone in this country has the slightest conception of how much it matters in India. For people here it is the name of an Indian restaurant or a brand of pencils or maybe something they have seen on a school trip to the Tower of London.'

holiday one week later to Monday May 8.

Some have even called for an extra bank holiday on top of the eight that are already scheduled for next year – those being January 2, April 7, April 10, May 1, May 29, August 28, December 25 and December 28.

Labour today said moving the early May day off would be a 'good idea', while Business Secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg said a bank holiday would be 'appropriate' to mark the 'splendid historic' event.

No10 said the Government was 'carefully considering' the issue amid the clamour for a three-day weekend to celebrate the Coronation.

Meet The Woman Who Has Not Cut Her Nail For 25 years.

 A woman whose name is Diana has revealed that she has not cut her nails for the past 25 years.

 

Classy wears

Diana claims she has to quit her job to focus on growing her nails, which now measure a whopping 42ft and ten inches collectively. That’s the length of a school bus.

The Minnesota woman has now broken the world record for the longest nails.

According to Metro UK, she says she struggles to zip up her jeans or open cans.

Diana Armstrong, 64, also can’t use public bathrooms because her long talons don’t fit in the stalls.

The record breaker hasn’t cut her nails for a quarter of a century, last trimming them in 1997.

When her daughter tragically died from an asthma attack at age 16, she vowed to never cut her claws again.

The teen would manicure Diana’s nails every weekend, so after her sudden loss, the grieving mother couldn’t bring herself to let anyone else take care of them.

Diana claims she even quit her job to focus on growing her nails, which now measure a whopping 42ft and ten inches collectively. That’s the length of a school bus.

Her longest nail is her right thumbnail, which reaches a lengthy four foot and six inches.

Taking care of her nails is no small task and if Diana feels like even adding a coat of polish can get pretty time consuming.

She told Guinness that it takes between four to five hours to paint her talons using 15-20 bottles of nail polish, not to mention the woodwork tool she needs to file them.

‘I haven’t been to a nail salon in about 22 years. When they see me coming, they’d be like, “Oh no”,’ Diana joked.

While Diana loves her long nails, they come with their downsides, including struggling to open the fridge door and no longer being able to drive because her nails don’t fit in the car.

The record-breaker also struggles to pick things up off the floor.

‘If I have to pick up money off the floor, I can pick up bills, but if I drop change on the floor, that will just stay down there,’ she told Guinness, adding that she often uses her feet to grab things.

‘I can pop open a can of soda but I need a knife. I drove a car but had to stick my hand out the window, so I don’t drive anymore,’ she said in an interview with Daily Star.

‘And in public restrooms, I need to use the biggest stall – my nails are usually longer than the regular-sized stalls.’

While her children didn’t understand her decision to grow them out at first, they soon became accepting of her long nails.

‘When she told us the back story, it kind of changed my feelings towards it,’ Diana’s daughter, Rania, explained.

‘Because just as much as she missed my sister, I missed her too. So, if that’s her way of holding on to her, then I accept.’

Diana added: ‘I think she [Latisha] would be proud of me because she’s the last one who did my nails.

‘That’s who I think of when I grow my nails, is my daughter.’

Diana is used to getting stares when out in public, and said people often ask her if they can take pictures of her impressive nails.

She used to be self-conscious about the attention she received but is now comfortable with her nails.

‘The story behind her record is as fascinating as it is heartbreaking, and Diana’s determination to honor her daughter’s legacy in her unique way is inspiring,’ Guinness World Records Editor-in-Chief Craig Glenday said.

‘Family means everything for Diana, and she’s lucky to have gathered around her a wonderful support network… which is what you need when each of your fingernails is longer than a ski pole.’

Texas woman Ayanna Williams used to hold the world record, but decided to cut her nails off last year after growing them out for three decades.

But Diana insisted she’s never getting rid of hers. She added: ‘My nails are a part of me. I can’t ever imagine cutting them off.