Queen Victoria's Last Love Page #4

if nobody can act or sing.

You just arrange yourselves

into a sort of staging

of an old master painting...

or a biblical scene.

And then all sorts

of people carry props

representing this,

that and the other,

and there's slightly wonky

palm trees in the background.

The royal am-drams had been

a fixture in the household

from the early years

of Victoria's marriage.

25 years on, the Queen's children

were still providing

the onstage talent...

as were the aristocrats

of the royal household.

Usually, the more important

positions in the theme

would be held by

the more important people

and the members of the royal family.

The arrival of Abdul Karim and the

Indian servants changed everything.

Once Victoria had

the Indians at Osborne,

this was a great boon

for the staging of tableaux,

because now they could do scenes

from the East and that sort of thing

with genuine-looking characters.

If you needed wise men

for a nativity scene,

here you had them.

Straight from the East,

the real thing.

It wasn't only the royal repertoire

that was transformed

by Karim's arrival.

With each performance, Abdul himself

inched closer to the limelight.

It's quite interesting

to chart his rise to power

from the early ones,

where he's kind of an extra.

Just a servant in the background.

But as time goes on,

he gets promoted, if you like.

This was something, I think,

he was known to be very fond of.

I understand he would be

the main star, the director,

the overall and be-all.

There's one called The King Of Egypt

where he's...

he's on a throne.

He has his own slaves fanning him.

He's clearly the top guy now.

This man was a waiter,

but here he is as the king of Egypt.

And although it was only

on the stage, you know,

it actually meant something

in real life too.

The costumed capers mirrored

a real-life palace promotion.

By 1894, Abdul was already

a regular presence

at royal receptions.

Now, he was to be officially

elevated by Queen Victoria

to the position of

Her Majesty's Indian Secretary.

'As for Abdul Karim, the Queen

can never praise him highly enough.

'He is zealous and attentive,

'a thorough gentleman

in feelings and manners. '

Karim had crossed a line.

No longer a mere servant,

he was now elevated into

the top rank of the palace hierarchy

as a member of

the royal household itself.

The Queen's gentlemen

were not amused.

In the household at the time,

status is terribly important,

and someone who came

from India who was Indian

probably wouldn't have held

positional rank below stairs

above the most junior parlour maids,

housemaids, and junior boot boys.

And so, suddenly, when the Queen

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