Malta makes U-turn, allows Prince George to keep 23 million-year-old shark tooth fossil

Malta has made a swift U-turn on its demand from Britain's royal family to return the shark tooth fossil which was gifted to Prince George by veteran naturalist Sir David Attenborough.

Just a day after to be exhibited in a Maltese museum, the government decided that Prince George can keep the fossil, after all, reports Reuters.

The fossilised shark tooth, believed to be 23-million-year-old, was discovered by Sir David Attenborough in Malta when he was holidaying with his family on the Mediterranean island in the 1960s. The tooth is believed to be belonging to a Carcharocles megalodon, an extinct species of a giant shark that could grow up to 16 metres (about 50 feet), three times the size of modern great white sharks.

During his recent meeting with Prince William and Kate Middleton, the Duke and the Duchess of Cambridge, and their three children- Prince George, Princess Charlotte, and Prince Louis, the natural historian gifted the fossil to George. The seven-year-old royal, who is third in the line of succession to the British throne, is a huge fan of the 94-year-old and was seen examining the fossil in pictures shared by the Kensington Palace on its social media accounts last week.

After it became public knowledge that the young royal has been presented with a fossil which was originally excavated in Malta, Culture Minister José Herrera told Times of Malta: "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," he said.

However, Malta appeared to reverse course the next day on its plans to get back the fossil, as a spokesman for Herrera's office told the outlet: "The minister would like to note that with reference to this case, it is not the intention to pursue this matter any further."

Malta is a former British colony that obtained independence in 1964. The British royal family has not yet publicly reacted to the demand and the subsequent U-turn by Malta.