Prince George can keep prehistoric shark tooth, Malta makes a u-turn
Malta, making a rapid U-turn, over a prehistoric shark tooth that was given as a present to Britain’s Prince George by naturalist Sir David Attenborough, has said that Prince George was welcome to keep a fossilised shark tooth.
According to a report by Reuters, the 23-million-year-old fossil was discovered by Attenborough in Malta when he was holidaying on the Mediterranean island in the 1960s.
The veteran naturalist gave it to George, 7, at the weekend.
Earlier, Malta’s Culture Minister Jose Herrera said on Monday he would “set the ball rolling” in retrieving the tooth, but the plan rapidly ran aground.
“It is not (our) intention to pursue this matter any further,” a ministry spokesman said, without giving any explanation for the abrupt change of heart.
Herrera’s move on Monday had raised some negative comments on social media, with critics pointing out that fossilised teeth of megalodon sharks can be bought for less than 50 euros.
Prince George: Malta wants its prehistoric shark tooth back
The 7-year-old future king received a 23 million-year-old fossilized tooth, found in the former British colony, from famed environmentalist Sir David Attenborough.
By MARTHA ROSS | mross@bayareanewsgroup.com | Bay Area News Group
PUBLISHED: September 28, 2020 at 10:27 a.m. | UPDATED: September 28, 2020 at 2:40 p.m.
Prince George, the 7-year-old future king of the United Kingdom, is having to learn a difficult lesson about what happens when he and other members of the royal family are gifted rare objects that have to be repatriated to their countries of origin.
George is at the center of a diplomatic fuss after beloved British environmentalist Sir David Attenborough gave him a prehistoric shark tooth he said he found while on a family vacation to Malta more than 50 years ago, the Guardian reported.
Sir David Attenborough was a guest at Kensington Palace where he & the Duke of Cambridge watched Attenborough’s latest film: “A Life On Our Planet”
He 0resented Prince George with a 23 million year old shark tooth. pic.twitter.com/JnumPEGSKz
— Robert Jobson (@theroyaleditor) September 26, 2020
Officials in Malta, a former British colony, want to investigate whether the son of Prince William and Kate Middleton should return the historic artifact to the island nation so that it can be displayed in a museum there, the Times of Malta reported. The Maltese culture minister, Jose Herrera, has pledged to investigate the provenance of the fossilized tooth, which is believed to be about 23 million years old.
“There are some artifacts that are important to Maltese natural heritage, which ended up abroad and deserve to be retrieved,” Herrera told the Times of Malta.
The fuss over the tooth began after Kensington Palace posted cute photos over the weekend, showing a delighted George with his new gift. Attenborough made the kind gesture to the young prince while visiting the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge for a private viewing of his new environmental documentary, “A Life on Our Planet.”
The tooth was found embedded in yellow limestone and is believed to have once belonged to an extinct species of giant shark that could grow up to 52 feet long, the Times of Malta reported. Under the laws of Malta, fossils are considered to be objects of “geological importance,” and their excavation or removal from the country is forbidden, the Times said.
George’s royal family has long been called on to return famous items that came into their possession through plunder by explorers and soldiers or acquired through colonization, the Guardian reported.
One of those items is the Koh-i-noor diamond, which is part of the crown jewels and has been on display in the Tower of London, the Guardian also reported. The diamond, valued at more than $100 million, was possibly mined in India, belonged to the Peacock Throne of the Mughal emperors and changed hands several times before it ended up in the possession of Queen Victoria in 1849. Queen Elizabeth II’s mother wore the diamond at the coronations of both her daughter and her husband, George VI.
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