Royal diamond that drips with blood: As Pakistan and India demand the return of our most precious Crown Jewel, the thrilling yet brutal story behind the Koh-i-Noor diamond and the thousands who died because of it

Like the magnificent jewel itself, the story of how Britain acquired the Koh-i-Noor diamond, pictured inset, has many facets. Some sparkle with intrigue, others are bloody and sordid. Ever since the British took it in the mid-19th century, claims have been lodged for its return by those who believe they are its rightful owners - including the people of India, the Iranians and even the Taliban in Afghanistan. Now comes a new demand from a Pakistan lawyer who, after years of campaigning and letter-writing, has been promised his day in court in Islamabad. There he will argue that the stone was 'snatched illegally' from an area that subsequently became part of Pakistan when India was partitioned in 1947. His petition calls for a response not only from the British Government but from the Queen (shown left with her mother) - appropriately, perhaps, as it was into her great-great-grandmother's hands that the Koh-i-Noor, pictured right as part of the Crown Jewels, fell.