Sir David Attenborough Gave Prince George A Fossilized Shark Tooth From Malta, And Malta Wants It Back
Ah, the tragedy of being a rich little royal prince. You hold out your hand to accept a 23 million-year-old shark tooth from an elderly natural historian that your great-granny decorated with a knighthood back in ’85, only to discover that its country of origin demands the artifact be returned immediately. Prince George barely wrapped his fingers around that dinosaur dental bone, and now he’s expected to give it up? According to the country of Malta, yes – that’s exactly what they want.
So this all began last week, when Sir David Attenborough made a socially distanced visit to Prince William, Duchess Kate, and the Cambridge children, at their home in Kensington Palace. The Cambridges didn’t wear COVID masks, which is a choice I am silently judging a little, considering the current numbers in the UK, and the fact that Sir David is in the virus danger zone of 94-years-old. But they did do what they often do: aggressively coordinated their outfits to the point that you’ve got to wonder what kind of discount they’re getting at the Blue Family Clothing Warehouse. The official Kensington Palace Twitter account released a few images on Saturday of Sir David’s visit and explained that had a little visit after screening his upcoming film, A Life On Our Planet, with Prince William.
🎞️ Sir David Attenborough joined The Duke of Cambridge for a private outdoor screening of his upcoming film 'David Attenborough: A Life On Our Planet', at Kensington Palace. pic.twitter.com/Q62JkYESLE
— The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (@KensingtonRoyal) September 26, 2020
Prince George is 7, and what 7-year-old wouldn’t be absolutely fascinated by an old shark tooth (it’s likely believed to have come from a Megalodon). As People magazine points out, Prince George is a big fan of David and his films. So that’s cute. Except not everyone thinks it’s cute that a tooth from the Neogene Period has landed in Prince George’s possession. CNN says that David found the tooth in a piece of soft yellow limestone back in the late 1960s, during a family vacation to the Mediterranean island of Malta. Once word got out about the origin of David’s gift, Maltese Culture Minister Jose Herrera came forward and promised that he’d get “the ball rolling” to have the tooth returned.
“There are some artifacts that are important to Maltese natural heritage and which ended up abroad and deserve to be retrieved. We rightly give a lot of attention to historical and artistic artifacts. However, it is not always the case with our natural history. I am determined to direct a change in this attitude.”
CNN suggests that this shark tooth situation is an example of that classic British Royal colonialism. Malta became a British colony in 1813 and served as the headquarters for a bunch of Royal Navy ships. In 1964 it gained its independence. It probably doesn’t feel great to learn that a fancy British knight who is friends with Queen Elizabeth pocketed a shark tooth while on holiday, and then tossed it five decades later to the third in line to the throne.
I get it. I’d be pissed if someone came to my house and took a souvenir on the way out (although I doubt anyone would want my dusty Oleg Cassini decorative plates). But I don’t think anyone has to worry about Prince George getting upset about returning the tooth, if he so chooses. He’s rich! Why have a single tooth when you could ask your great-grandmother to have science make you a whole Megalodon from scratch. I bet he’s already got his parents on it for his 8th birthday. Honestly, Prince George was probably just being polite when he accepted that tooth.