Arcot Diamonds - The Nawab of Arcot, India to avoid upsetting situation gifted them to Queen Charlette of England

Navrang India December 14, 2023

Arcot diamonds. famousdiamonds.tripod.com

Above image:  The original Arcot Diamonds suspended from a bar brooch after dismounting from the Westminster Tiara. The two Arcot diamonds in the photograph above, the original diamonds before precutting, appear to match each other in size and shape, despite their differences in weight, the larger one being 33.70 carats and smaller one 23.65 carats. 

King George III.en.wikipedia.org

Queen Charlotte/famousdiamonds.tripod.com

Above image:  The American city Charlette is named after her and the bronze statue in NC is described as Britain's only black royal member...........................

.King George IV who possessed arcot diamonds walamy.com

The jewels mentioned in the second category of Queen Charlotte’''will'', known as the Arcot Diamonds, had a rather interesting history.

Gov. of Madras Presidency Sir Thomas Rumbold
                                                                         en.wikipedia.org

Above image: Sir Thomas Rumbold ( 1736 –  1791)  was a British administrator in India and politician who sat in the House of Commons between 1770 and 1790. He served as Governor of Madras from 1777 to 1780>He tried hard to posses the resplendent diamond pair........................ 

 Nawab Wallajah India,en.wikipedia.org

Queen Charlotte  instructed the jewels in the second and third categories, the Arcot diamonds, and the jewels which she had purchased or had received as gifts, had to be sold and the proceeds were then to be divided equally among  her four daughters. However,  Prince Regent  wanted to possess  his mother’s jewels and had not taken  the welfare of his sisters  into account

Arcot kingdom youtube.c


The Arcot Diamonds were a set of flawless, pure white diamonds mined in the 17th century at Kollur in the Golconda region of southern India, now part of Andhra Pradesh. Gifted in 1777 by Nawab Muhammad Ali Khan Wallajah of Arcot—a town then under British influence—the five large diamonds, ranging between 38 and 23 carats, were given as tokens of gratitude to King George III and the East India Company for military support.

The Arcot diamond pair was separated by Harry Winston after 182 years, set on two different ring and sold them to two Americans, Arcot diamond once were part of the coronation crown of Queen Adelaide, consort of  king William (brother of George IV who inherited the throne as George IV (died  in 1830) had no legitimate issues

An incident involving Governor Sir Thomas Rumbold of Madras led to the diamonds’ unexpected transfer to Queen Charlotte. At a party hosted by Rumbold, the Nawab wore a dazzling diamond ring. Coveting it, Rumbold, greedy and grasping  insisted on keeping it after trying it on. Rather than provoke the powerful governor, the Nawab—on the advice of Colonel Alexander Crosby—cleverly wrote a letter to Queen Charlotte, officially presenting the diamonds to her. The letter arrived in London before Rumbold, who was forced to surrender the ring upon his return. Thus  the Nawab Wallajah using his discretion  and  taking into account the future of his kingdom  avoided a discomforting situation created by Madras Presidency Governor Thomas Rumbold. 

The Arcot Diamonds thus entered Queen Charlotte’s personal collection. Upon her death, her will specified that these jewels be sold and the proceeds divided among her four daughters. However, after King George III’s death, her son George IV claimed both his parents' property and ignored the queen’s will. Driven by greed, he had the larger Arcot diamonds removed from their settings and reset in a new crown for himself. He also kept most of the queen’s other jewels, denying his sisters their rightful inheritance.

The Arcot Diamonds were eventually separated by jeweler Harry Winston in the 20th century, reset in rings, and sold to American buyers. Their journey—from Indian royalty to British monarchy, and eventually to private collectors—reflects a story of colonial politics, personal ambition, and royal intrigue.