The discussion on the Koh-i-noor diamond on today’s Good Morning Britain turned highly heated, with former Big Brother star Narinder Kaur aggressively yelling across the table at her debate opponent.
It was confirmed earlier this week that Camilla would wear Queen Mary’s crown for the coronation of King Charles III and the Queen Consort on May 6, which has already been shifted from the Tower of London.
The royal family will not use the Koh-i-noor diamond in the crown, which has ties to Britain’s colonial past after being taken by the East India Company following its victory in the Second Anglo-Sikh War in 1849 and is now housed in the royal Crown Jewels.
The gemstone, which had previously been set at the front of Queen Mary’s crown, was replaced by a duplicate in 1937, and its usage at King Charles’ coronation may have resulted in a diplomatic controversy with India.
On Thursday, broadcaster and former Big Brother competitor Narinder Kaur debated the diamond with GB News presenter Emma Webb, with the latter saying that the diamond ‘definitely should not be returned’.
‘One of the primary reasons for this is ownership – clearly, each artefact has its own specific history. And, as historian Robert Tombs pointed out, this is truly symptomatic of how intricate history is. Because this is an artefact that has gone through the hands of many peoples, empires, and conquests throughout history,’ Emma explained.

Narinder, on the other hand, slammed her fellow guest’s argument as ‘benign’ and ‘weak,’ claiming that the diamond’represents a colonial past of pillaging, slaughter of millions of Indians’.
‘It’s hurtful to many Indians around the world and here in the UK that actually it was stolen. It was taken from Duleep Singh who was a 10-year-old boy king during colonisation. Why the British insist on keeping it… and I think it was a very diplomatic decision by the British government to not use it in the coronation. Why? Because it sidesteps the argument that actually this diamond does not belong in this country and why are museums still benefiting from colonisation?’ she stressed.
At one time, Emma mentioned the Sikh community in Punjab, to which Narinder responded, ‘Which is what I am.’
‘The ruler that you mentioned was also a ruler of Lahore, so is Pakistan going to have a claim of it?’ Emma reasoned.
Narinder responded: ‘‘Cause they stole it and they got it back! You must know your history! No, you do not know history. They stole it, and it was taken back.’
Emma looked to get increasingly irritated at being stopped, saying, ‘Let me finish my point, please!’
GMB co-host Ed Balls admitted that he felt ‘exhausted’ by the conversation as it came to an end.
Several viewers expressed how shocked they were by the argument that ensued, with one person tweeting: ‘Shouting over everybody is not a good debate.’
‘@GMB debate, I think not. More like an absolute shouting match. This show is unbelievable,’ another wrote.
Good Morning Britain airs weekdays from 6am on ITV.