Charles III hinted that Britain would give the Parthenon Marbles to Greece

The performance of the British monarch in a tie with the Greek flag caused a sensation

British King Charles III spoke at the COP28 climate summit in Dubai wearing a Greek flag tie. The same national ornament of the country where the father of the current British monarch, Prince Philip, was born, was emblazoned on a handkerchief that elegantly peeked out from his jacket pocket. And although Charles III did not say a word about Greece, this gesture is interpreted as the king’s position regarding the dispute over the Parthenon marbles. And all because the day before, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak refused to meet with Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis, who was going to discuss a sensitive issue with 200 years of history.

Since Greece finally gained independence from centuries-old Ottoman Turkey in 1830, Greeks have been fighting for the return of the Parthenon Marbles. They consider the sculptures and reliefs created in the 5th century to be national treasures that were taken from their homeland illegally.

The history of the issue is as follows. After lengthy negotiations with the Turkish government, Thomas Bruce from the Earl family of Elgin in 1801 received permission to make sketches and measurements, carry out excavations, take casts, and also “take any sculptures, reliefs and move stones” in the Athenian Acropolis. For some time he actually was engaged in measurements and sketches, but already in 1802 he began to slowly export sculptures and other artifacts. The transportation of valuable cargo lasted ten years. Moreover, one of the ships with precious artifacts sank during a storm in 1804. The Turkish government did not interfere in any way with these transportations, as well as with the sale of valuables to the British government and the transfer of artifacts to the British Museum. As a result, the museum found 12 sculptures from pediments, 15 metopes (marble square slabs), 56 slabs depicting the “Panathenaic Procession” and a number of other elements from the Athenian temple. From the very beginning, the Greeks considered the Parthenon marble stolen and fought for its return to their homeland. They have been especially active in this over the past year.

The other day, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis openly stated that the sculptures were stolen from Greece, and compared the loss to the division of the Mona Lisa in two. After these words, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak canceled his planned meeting with the Greek. The long-term dispute over marble seems to have entered a decisive stage and resulted in direct confrontation between the countries.

A week before these events, the chairman of the British Museum, George Osborne, gave a speech where he tried to smooth over the growing claims of Greece. He talked about possible “cultural exchanges”, reported that a 5th century vase that had not left the museum for several centuries would soon go to Athens for a temporary exhibition, proposed some forms of cooperation regarding the Parthenon marble, but in such a way as not to give it away completely if only for a while. However, immediately after this, Rishi Sunak said bluntly: this will not happen, ancient Greek sculptures will not leave Foggy Albion. This categorical attitude caused a response from the Greek government.

The silent gesture of Charles III is interpreted by some as an attempt to smooth out the situation, by others as a direct hint that the monarch supports the position of the Greeks and is ready to facilitate the return of artifacts to the place for which they were created. One way or another, in the context of the situation, the element of the monarch’s wardrobe created a sensation. And, perhaps, now, after the scandal surrounding the thefts from the British Museum, against the backdrop of a wave of repatriation (Germany is returning art objects confiscated from Jews by the Nazis, and the United States is returning artifacts taken by “black diggers” and smugglers to Africa and Asia), the question of the Parthenon sculptures will it be resolved? However, if Britain returns the sculptures to Greece, other countries, especially the kingdom’s former colonies, will redouble their demands for the same justice for artifacts once illegally exported by the British. And Egypt, India, Nigeria, China, and others have claims.