African ruler will seek return of gold from King Charles’s collection

King Charles met with Otumfuo Osei Tutu II at Buckingham Palace ahead of the Coronation in May last year – GARETH FULLER/AFP via Getty Images

An African ruler is attempting to reclaim gold from the collection of King Charles, the Telegraph can reveal.

Otumfuo Osei Tutu II, the king of the Asante people in Ghana, celebrated a landmark repatriation deal last week in which the V&A and British Museum loaned him golden treasures taken by British forces in the 20th century.

The Telegraph can reveal that the Asante ruler will press on and seek to reclaim all ancestral gold held in Britain, including treasures in King Charles’s art collection.

A number of artefacts seized from the Asante capital of Kumasi are on display as part of the Royal Collection at Windsor Castle, where the African leader stayed as a guest ahead of the King’s Coronation in 2023.

In the immediate wake of his UK visit, The Telegraph understands that the Asante king, or “Asantehene”, set in motion plans to repatriate treasures taken from his ancestors which are now scattered across a number of British collections, including at the University of Oxford.

The ultimate aim is to ensure all of the ceremonially important looted treasures can be reunited.

Oheneba Owusu Afriyie IV, an “Apagyahene” or prince of the Asante people and a member of the king’s inner court, told The Telegraph: “That is the end goal.”

He added: “Certainly, that is the vision. That is the hope of most Asante and Ghanaians at large that eventually these artefacts will come home where they truly belong.”

One of the artefacts the Asante want repatriated is a golden trophy head taken from King Kofi Karikari, on display at Windsor Castle

An Asante golden state sword from the 19th century forms part of the Royal Collection

Speaking about returns from the Royal Collection and a string of UK museums, the Apagyahene said: “That is the greater goal, the eventual hope, that we can have all of these things assembled.

“Why should I, as an Asante wanting to see my history, have to travel across the world to see it, instead of the world coming here to see it?”

Ivor Agyeman-Duah, an academic and writer and the director of the Asante king’s museum, confirmed that an approach has been made with regard to reclaiming treasures from the Royal Collection Trust, saying that it would be “discussed with the participation of key players”.

The Apagyahene and Mr Agyeman-Duah spoke at the ceremonial opening of the king’s Manhyia Palace Museum in the Asante capital Kumasi, where scores of chiefs were assembled along with British dignitaries to mark the return of golden artefacts taken from the Asante 150 years ago.

The objects loaned by the V&A and British Museum were taken as a war indemnity by the British in 1874 following the Third Anglo-Asante War, then auctioned off by the Crown jeweller to major museums in order to raise funds for injured soldiers.

Many of the objects were golden royal regalia of sacred significance to the Asante and their ruling dynasty, and a selection of 32 of these pieces have been repatriated in a loan negotiated with the V&A and British Museum.

Some of the Asante artefacts on loan from the British Museum on display at the Manhyia Palace Museum in Kumasi – Eddie Mulholland

A gold headpiece returned to Ghana as part of the temporary agreement

The Telegraph revealed on Sunday that the Asante king wants to keep the items on loan permanently and is hopeful that a future Labour government will change laws currently preventing their return.

The Asante also wish to see more objects returned, eventually on a permanent basis, and the king’s palace museum in Kumasi is currently being expanded to increase its capacity to have the “house in order” for future repatriations.

The Royal Collection, held in trust by the King on behalf of the British people, boasts a golden state sword which was taken from King Kofi Karikari, the ruler who lost the 1874 Anglo-Asante War, and then sent to Queen Victoria.

This is on display in the Grand Vestibule at Windsor, alongside a golden trophy head taken from the same king as part of a war indemnity.

The Royal Collection told The Telegraph that the collection is held “by the Sovereign for his successors and the nation, and is not owned by the King as a private individual”, adding in regard to returning artefacts: “The King would take advice from Royal Collection Trust, who would consult a range of internal and external stakeholders.”

Buckingham Palace was approached for comment.

Play The Telegraph’s brilliant range of Puzzles – and feel brighter every day. Train your brain and boost your mood with PlusWord, the Mini Crossword, the fearsome Killer Sudoku and even the classic Cryptic Crossword.