Viceroy's House Page #2

We promised you help in return

for independence.

How could we fight Hitler

when our own country was already

under foreign occupation?

2.5 million of your fellow countrymen

found a way.

- Those Indians volunteered.

- Indeed.

You would not have won

without their sacrifice.

You owe India a great debt.

And Panditji owes Cambridge

a great debt

for honing his debating skills.

There are 34

reception rooms, 34 state rooms,

ten private dining rooms, a cinema.

Makes Buckingham Palace

look like a bungalow.

I'm so hot, I think I might actually die.

Ma'am, here's the food for the dog.

Would you take them onto the terrace?

It was such a long journey.

It's just terribly, terribly hot.

Ah, just there, please.

What do we have here?

I haven't seen chicken like this

since before rationing.

Lady Sahib, if the food is incorrect,

we are very sorry. We will take it away.

No, please, leave it.

You don't think...

Why not?

Mm.

The Order of the Garter,

worn singularly

or together with the Order of the Star

of India, depending on the occasion.

If I want to push the boat out,

then I will wear all four.

Now to dressing.

We're going to get this down to

a fine art.

I never want to spend more than

two minutes dressing.

Yes, Excellency.

Not "Excellency" till after

the ceremony. "Sir" will do.

Right. Socks, no suspenders.

Braces, leave on the trousers.

Have you seen that before?

- Hm?

- No, sir.

How much time do we waste

buttoning trousers?

One just steps into these and...

The whole of the Navy uses them now.

This morning I'd say we're pulling out

all the stops.

And...

Duleep Singh, isn't it?

Yes, sir.

Lord Wavell speaks very highly of you.

- Thank you, sir. Honour to serve.

- And...?

Jeet Kumar, sir. From Punjab.

He's the new boy.

Well, Kumar, we have something

in common there.

Now...

Are we ready?

Thirteen minutes.

Hm.

We'll do better next time.

I, Louis Francis Albert Victor Nicholas,

Viscount Mountbatten of Burma,

do swear true allegiance to our

Sovereign Lord, King George VI,

Defender of the Faith,

Emperor of India,

and I will faithfully fill the office

of Viceroy of India

according to law.

May God be my guide.

Oi! Have you never seen gories

in fine dresses before?

You may be new but you must know

your place.

Oi, Mohsin bhai. Leave him be.

He's my friend.

You Punjabis always look after

your own.

- You Bengalis...

- Hey! Don't talk like that.

Get back to your places.

This is not a normal

Viceroyalty on which I am embarking.

I am under no illusion about

the difficulty of my task.

I shall need the greatest goodwill

of the greatest possible number

and I am asking India today

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