28 IOR MSS/Eur/558/1, Telegram No. 49, Queen to Lansdowne, 18 December 1890, Windsor
29 IOR MSS/Eur/D558/1, Telegram No. 55, Queen to Lansdowne, 26 January 1891, Osborne
30 Ibid., Telegram No. 57, Queen to Lansdowne, 30 January 1891, Osborne
31 Ibid., Telegram No. 65, Lansdowne to Queen, 15 February 1891, Calcutta
32 Ibid., Telegram No. 60, Queen to Lansdowne, 15 February 1891, Osborne
33 IOR MSS/Eur/D558/3, Cross to Lansdowne, 24 December 1890, India Office, Whitehall
7. Indian Affairs
1 IOR MSS/Eur/D558/4
2 Reid Archives, Scrap Book, 1891, cutting from The Standard, 26 March 1891
3 Michael Nelson, Queen Victoria and the Discovery of the Riviera (London: Tauris Parke, 2007), p. 52
4 IOR MSS/Eur/F130/6, Letter to Lala Jhinda Ram, 1 May 1891, Moscow
5 IOR MSS/Eur/D558/7, Cross to Lansdowne, 25 July 1890
6 IOR MSS/Eur/D558/3, Cross to Duleep Singh, 1 August 1890, Whitehall
7 RA VIC/MAIN/QVJ/1891: 31 March
8 Reid Archives, Scrap Book, 1891, cutting from Dundee Evening Telegraph, 10 September 1891
9 Gabriel Tschumi, Royal Chef, 4th edn (London: William Kimber, 1974), p. 69
10 RA VIC/QVJ/MAIN/1893: 26 August
11 IOR MSS/Eur/D558/4, Cross to Lansdowne, 15 October 1891, Balmoral
12 Ibid., Cross to Lansdowne, 1 October 1891, Balmoral
13 Ibid., Cross to Lansdowne, 19 August 1891, Broughton-in-Furness
14 Reid Archives, Scrap Book, 1891, Vol. 2
15 Reid Archives, Scrap Book, Vol. 2, ‘Abstract of conversation with John Tyler’
16 Quoted from Life, Vol. 1, Marie of Romania, in Heart of a Queen by Theo Aronson, p. 240
17 RA VIC/ADDQ/5/116, Alex Profeit to Queen, 8 May 1892
18 Reid Archives, Scrap Book, Vol. 2
19 RA GV/PRIV/AA10/41, Queen to Duke of York
20 IOR MSS/Eur/D558/12, Queen to Lansdowne, June 1892, Balmoral
21 IOR MSS/Eur/D558/10, Secretary of State to Viceroy, 15 March 1893
22 The Times, 24 March 1893
23 RA VIC/MAIN/QVJ/HIND/1: 11 May 1893
24 RA VIC/MAIN/QVJ/1893: 18 November
25 The Times, 19 November 1893
26 Letter from Queen Victoria to Empress Frederick of Germany, 9 December 1893, quoted in Sushila Anand, Indian Sahib, p. 45
27 The first five of the Hindustani Journals have not survived and hence the 6th book is numbered 1 in the references
28 RA VIC/MAIN/QVJ/HIND/1: 14 November 1892
29 Ibid., 31 December 1892
30 RA VIC/MAIN/QVJ/ADDU/104/12, Queen to Karim, 28 December 1893, Osborne
31 RA VIC/MAIN/QVJ/ADDU/104/13, 15 February 1894, Osborne
32 RA VIC/MAIN/ADDU/104/10, 12 December 1893, Windsor
33 Reid Archives, Diary, 16 December 1893
34 RA VIC/ADDU/104/11
35 RA VIC/ADDU/104/14: 15 September 1894, Balmoral
36 RA VIC/ADDU/104/15: 9 October 1894, Balmoral
37 RA VIC/ADDU/104/16: 11 October 1894, Balmoral
38 IOR MSS/Eur/D558/1, Telegram No. 123, Queen to Viceroy, 15 August 1893, Osborne
39 Ibid., Telegram No. 124, Queen to Viceroy, 25 August 1893, Osborne
40 IOR MSS/Eur/D558/1, Telegram No.151, Viceroy to Queen, November 1893
41 Ibid., Telegram No. 126, Queen to Viceroy, 21 September 1893, Balmoral
42 Ibid., Telegram No. 134, Queen to Viceroy, 8 December 1893
43 Ibid., Viceroy to Queen, November 1893
44 Ibid., Telegram No.134, Queen to Viceroy, 8 December 1893
45 IOR MSS/Eur/D558/1, Telegram No. 167, Viceroy to Queen, December 1893, Government House, Calcutta
8. The Viceroy Receives a Christmas Card
1 Reid Archives, Scrap Book, Vol. 12
2 Ibid.
3 Ibid.
4 Ibid.
5 Ibid.
6 Arthur Ponsonby, Henry Ponsonby, Queen Victoria’s Private Secretary, His Life From His Letters (London: Macmillan & Co., 1943), p. 131
7 Ibid.
8 Reid Archives, Scrap Book, 1891
9 RA LC/LCO/AR/1894
10 Reid Archives, Diary, October 1894
11 RA VIC/MAIN/Z/477/6
12 IOR/MSS/Eur/F84
13 Frederick Ponsonby, Recollections of Three Reigns (London: Odhams Press), p. 12
14 IOR MSS/Eur/F84/126 ff/47/v, Fritz Ponsonby to Lord Elgin, 25 January 1895
16 Ibid., Elgin to Fowler, 15 February 1895
17 AKJ (year 1894)
18 RA VIC/MAIN/QVJ/HIND/3: 1 January 1895
9. The Household Conspires
1 Strand Magazine, December 1892
2 RA VIC/MAIN/H/37/46, Queen to Prime Minister, 16 October 1895
3 IOR MSS/Eur/F84/126a
4 IOR MSS/Eur/L/PS/8/61
5 IOR MSS/Eur/F84/126
6 IOR MSS/Eur/F84/126b, Gadley to Elgin, 8 March 1895, Whitehall
7 IOR MSS/Eur/ F84/126a, Gadley to Elgin
8 RA VIC/MAIN/Z/477/207, Queen to Duchess of York, 11 March 1895, Windsor
9 Reid Archives, Scrap Book, Vol. 15, newspaper cutting
10 Ibid., cutting from The Galignani Messenger, 22 March 1895
11 Ibid., newspaper cutting
12 IOR MSS/Eur/F84/126b, Fritz Ponsonby to Elgin
13 RA VIC/ADDU/32/27, April 1895, Darmstadt
14 RA VIC/ADDU/104/17, Queen to Karim, 15 May 1895, Windsor
15 Reid Archives, Diary, 24 June 1895, Windsor
16 IOR MSS/Eur/F84/126b, Fritz Ponsonby to Elgin, 6 June 1895, Guard’s Club, London
17 Reid Archives, Scrap Book, Vol. 16
18 The Aberdeen Journal, 6 September 1895
19 Mary Lutyens (ed.), Lady Lytton’s Court Diary 1895–1899 (London: Rupert Hart Davis, 1961), p. 44
20 The Times Court Circular, 11 November 1895
21 Giles St Aubyn, Edward VII, Prince and King (London: William Collins, 1979), p. 142
22 IOR MSS/Eur/F84/126 a/b, Hamilton to Elgin, 15 November 1895, Whitehall
23 Michaela Reid, Ask Sir James (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1987), p. 142
24 The Times, 19 December 1895
25 Black, 15 June 1895
26 RA VIC/MAIN/QVJ/HIND/3: 2 December 1895
10. Rebellion in the Ranks
1 IOR MSS/Eur/F84/126b, Elgin to Sandhurst, 14 March 1896, Calcutta
2 IOR MSS/Eur/F84/126/f3, Hamilton to Elgin, 21 February 1896, Whitehall
3 Ibid.
4 IOR MSS/Eur/F84/126a
5 Ibid.
6 Ibid.
7 IOR MSS/Eur/F84/126/f16
8 Victor Mallet (ed.), Life With Queen Victoria: Marie Mallet’s Letters From Court 1887–1901 (London: John Murray), p. 96
9 Ibid., p. 2
10 The Times, 12 March 1897
11 Reid Archives, Diary, 13 March 1897
12 Ibid., 27 March 1897
13 Ibid., 28 March 1897
14 Ibid., 30 March 1897
15 Ibid.
16 IOR MSS/Eur/F84/126, Elgin to Hamilton, 3 April 1897
17 Reid Archives, Diary, 4 April 1897
18 Reid Archives, Scrap Book, Queen’s memo, 23 April 1897
19 IOR MSS/Eur/F84/126/f22, Fritz Ponsonby to Babington Smith, 27 April 1897, Hotel Re
gina, Cimiez
20 Ibid., Hamilton to Elgin, 30 April 1897, Whitehall
21 Reid Archives, Scrap Book, May 1897
22 IOR MSS/Eur/D509/4, Elgin to Hamilton, 21 April 1897, Simla
23 IOR MSS/Eur/D509/5, Elgin to Hamilton, 18 May 1897, Simla
11. ‘Munshimania’
1 Reid Archives, Scrap Book, Queen to Reid, 6 June 1897, Balmoral
2 Ibid., Queen to Reid, 28 June 1897, Balmoral
3 RA VIC/MAIN/QVJ/HIND/5: 20 June 1897
4 Reid Archives, Diary, 28 June 1897
5 Reid Archives, Scrap Book, Queen to Reid, 5 July 1897
6 Reid Archives, Diary, 21 July 1897, Osborne
7 Reid Archives, Diary, Queen to Reid, 28 July 1897, Osborne
8 Reid Archives, Scrap Book, Ahmed Husain to Reid, 4 August 1897
9 Reid Archives, Scrap Book, Fritz Ponsonby to Reid, 2 September 1897
10 Reid Archives, Scrap Book, cutting from The World, 15 September 1897
11 Michaela Reid, Ask Sir James, letter from Queen to Reid, quoted
12 Reid Archives, Scrap Book, Queen to Reid, 22 September 1897
13 Ibid., Reid to Queen, 23 September 1897
14 Reid Archives, Diary, 16 October 1897
15 Reid Archives, Diary, 21 October 1897
16 Reid Archives, Scrap Book, Queen to Reid, 21 October 1897
17 Reid Archives, Scrap Book, Queen to Reid, 22 October 1897
18 Reid Archives, Scrap Book, Reid to Queen, 26 October 1897
19 RA VIC/MAIN/QVJ/HIND/5: 26 October 1897, Balmoral
20 Reid Archives, Scrap book, 1897–98. Newspaper report on the Queen’s departure, 12 November 1897
12. Redemption
1 RA VIC/ADDU/104/20, Queen to Karim, 12 February 1898, Osborne
2 Reid Archives, Diary, Reid to Salisbury, 29 January 1898, Osborne
3 Reid Archives, Diary, 18 February 1898
4 Ibid.
5 Reid Archives, Scrap Book, Queen to Reid, April 1898, Cimiez
6 Reid Archives, Scrap Book, Davidson to Reid, May 1898
7 RA VIC/MAIN/C/20/20, Queen to Rowton, 27 June 1899
8 RA VIC/MAIN/QVJ/HIND/6: 13 August 1898
9 Agra Archives, Serial No. 3/File No. 14/Box 50
10 Ibid.
11 Ibid.
12 RA VIC/MAIN/QVJ/HIND/7: 24 May 1899
13 RA VIC/MAIN/QVJ/HIND/8: 31 October 1899
14 RA VIC/MAIN/O/7/22
13. Death of a Queen
1 Victor Mallet (ed.), Life with Queen Victoria: Marie Mallet’s Letters From Court, 1887–1901 (London: John Murray), p. 216
2 RA VIC/MAIN/QVJ/HIND/13: 7 November 1900
3 Reid Archives, ‘Report on Queen’s health/death’ by James Reid, 23 January 1901
4 Reid Archives, Diary, 25 January 1901
5 IOR MSS/Eur/D510/7, Curzon to Hamilton, 24 January 1901, Calcutta
14. Last Days in Agra
1 Reid Archives, Diary, 22 February 1901
2 Victor Mallet (ed.), Life with Queen Victoria: Marie Mallet’s Letters from Court, 1887–1901 (London: John Murray), p. 172
3 Letter from Lady Curzon quoted in Sushila Anand, Indian Sahib, p. 102
4 Mary Lutyens (ed.), Lady Lytton’s Court Diary 1895–1899 (London: Rupert Hart Davis, 1961), p. 42
5 IOR MSS/Eur/D510/7, Curzon to Hamilton, 31 January 1901
6 Ibid., Curzon to Hamilton, 28 November 1900
7 Ibid., 27 August 1902
8 Ibid., 14 March 1901
9 IOR MSS/Eur/D510/11, Curzon to Hamilton, 30 July 1902
10 IOR MSS/Eur/D510/12, Curzon to Hamilton, 5 November 1902
11 RA GV/PRIV/AA27/12, George to King Edward VII, 8 January 1906, Agra
12 RA GV/PRIV/AA27/51, George to King Edward VII, 20 March 1909, Marlborough House, London
15. Endgame
1 The Times, 24 April 1909
2 Giles St Aubyn, Edward VII: Prince and King (London: William Collins, 1979), p. 144
3 RA VIC/MAIN/X/14/20, Edward VII to Viceroy, 20 April 1909
4 RA VIC/MAIN/W/5/74, John Hewitt to Lord Minto, 27 April 1909, Nainital
5 Ibid.
6 Ibid.
7 RA VIC/MAIN/W/5/75, Edward VII to Minto, 21 May 1909, Buckingham Palace
8 St Aubyn, Edward VII, p. 145
9 RA VIC/MAIN/X/14/29, Minto to Knollys, 27 September 1909, Viceregal Lodge, Simla
10 St Aubyn, Edward VII, p. 145
11 RA VIC/MAIN/X/14/29, Minto to Knollys, 27 September 1909
12 RA VIC/MAIN/X/14/30, Minto to Edward VII, 28 September 1909, Simla
13 Ibid., Edward VII note to Minto, 20 October 1909
14 RA VIC/MAIN/W/5/100, Minto to Hewitt, 7 December 1909, Viceroy’s Camp, Bangalore
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Primary Sources
Royal Archives, Windsor (RA)
Queen Victoria’s Journals (QVJ)
Queen Victoria’s Hindustani Journals (QVJ/HIND)
Additional Manuscripts (ADDL/MSS)
Reid Archives, Jedburgh
Abdul Karim’s Journals (1887–97). Unpublished, Karachi
India Office Records, British Library, London (IOR)
Dufferin Papers
Lansdowne Papers
Elgin Papers
Curzon Papers
Minto Papers
Regional Archives, Agra
Abdul Karim files
Newspapers and Magazines
The Times
The Telegraph
Illustrated London News
The Daily Graphic Black
The World
The Standard
Lloyds Weekly
Aberdeen Weekly
Birmingham Daily Post
Pall Mall Gazette
The Era
Glasgow Herald
Secondary Sources and Select Bibliography
Anand, Sushila, Indian Sahib, Queen Victoria’s Dear Abdul (London: Duckworth, 1996)
Aronson, Theo, Heart of a Queen, Queen Victoria’s Romantic Attachments (London: John Murray, 1991)
Devi, Sunity, The Autobiography of an Indian Princess (India: 1921, reprint Tarang Paperbacks, 1995)
Erickson, Carolly, Her Little Majesty: The Life of Queen Victoria (London: Robson Books, 1999)
Harris, Russell, The Lafayette Studio and Princely India (Delhi: Roli Books)
Hibbert, Christopher, Queen Victoria, A Personal History (London: Harper Collins, 2001)
––––– Lives and Letters, Queen Victoria in Her Letters and Journals (Penguin reprint 1985)
––––– Edward VII: A Portrait (London: Allen Lane, 1976)
King, Greg, Twilight of Splendour, The Court of Queen Victoria During Her Diamond Jubilee Year (Canada: John Wiley and Sons, 2007)
Latif, Syad Muhammad, Agra, Historical and Descriptive (Calcutta: Calcutta Central Press Company, 1896)
Longford, Elizabeth, Victoria R.I. (London: Weidenfeld and Nicolson, 1964)
Lutyens, Mary (ed.), Lady Lytton’s Court Diary 1895–1899 (London: Rupert Hart-Davis, 1961)
Mallet, Victor (ed.), Life with Queen Victoria, Marie Mallet’s letters from Court 1887–1901 (London: John Murray)
Moore, Lucy, Maharanis: The Lives and Times of Three Generations of Indian Princesses (London: Viking, 2004)
Nelson, Michael, Queen Victoria and the Discovery of the Riviera (London: Tauris Parke reprint, 2007)
Nevill, Barry St John, Life at the Court of Queen Victoria (Stroud: Sutton Publishing, 1997)
Pandit, Vijaya Lakshmi, The Scope of Happiness: A Personal Memoir (London: Weiden
feld and Nicolson, 1979)
Ponsonby, Arthur, Henry Ponsonby, Queen Victoria’s Private Secretary, His Life From his Letters (London: Macmillan & Co., 1943)
Ponsonby, Frederick, Recollections of Three Reigns (London: Odhams Press)
Queen Victoria, Our Life in the Highlands (London: William Kimber, 1968)
Ramm, Agatha (ed.), Beloved and Darling Child: Last letters between Queen Victoria and her Eldest Daughter 1886–1901 (Stroud: Sutton Publishing, 1990)
Reid, Michaela, Ask Sir James (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1987)
Rennell, Tony, Last Days of Glory: The Death of Queen Victoria (London: Penguin, 2001)
St Aubyn, Giles, Edward VII, Prince and King (London: William Collins, 1979)
Tschumi, Gabriel, Royal Chef, Forty Years with Royal Households (London: William Kimber, 1954)
Vadgama, Kusoom, India in Britain (London: Robert Royce, 1984)
Van Der Kiste, John, Sons, Servants & Statesmen, The Men in Queen Victoria’s Life (Stroud: Sutton Publishing, 2006)
‘A book so startling that it changes your view of the world. One of the great love stories of all time.’
Phillip Knightley, Khaleej Times
‘A most unusual friendship, one that, however divisive it had been, had brought comfort to a lonely Queen in the twilight years of her reign.’
Daily Mail
‘Racy and well researched.’
Shashi Tharoor
‘Shrabani Basu has written a charming, lively and rigorous narrative of the complex relationship between a slightly dotty Queen and a slippery Indian from Agra.’
Swapan Dasgupta, Outlook Magazine
‘A fascinating book, full of colourful details and Shakespearean characters … Shrabani Basu does not just write biographies, she creates drama.’
Girish Karnad
‘A charming tale which should have been told before.’
Stephen Halliday, BBC History Magazine
‘Shrabani Basu has done a commendable job in digging up relevant material to write this book. It is totally absorbing.’
Khushwant Singh, The Telegraph
‘If this had been the plot of a novel, it would have been dismissed as foolishly far-fetched. But Victoria & Abdul is fact rather than fiction, and there lies its power.’
The Times of India
‘Shrabani Basu’s book convincingly conveys how a loyal slave who understood his mistresses’ loneliness became her passage to India.’