The unconventional relationship between Queen Victoria and Abdul Karim
- Victoria Regina
- Jun 24
- 9 min read
In 1887, Abdul Karim was one of two Indian men selected to serve Queen Victoria as a present for her Golden Jubilee. A year later, he was promoted to the role of the Queen's ‘Munshi’. But who was Abdul Karim and what was his relationship with Victoria really like?
Mohammed Abdul Karim was born at Lalitpur near Jhansi, in 1863. He was the second child out of eight siblings in a strict Muslim household. His father, Haji Mohammed Waziruddin, had previously served as a hospital attendant for the British Indian Army; and participated in in the march to Kandahar, before working at the Centre Jail in Agra. Growing up, Abdul was privately taught Urdu and Persian. He spent many of his teenage years travelling North India and Afghanistan. Upon his return, he got a job working as an agent for the Nawab of Jaora, in Agar.
Three years later, Karim moved to Agra, where he became a vernacular clerk at the same jail, where his father worked. In 1886, Abdul helped the jails assisting superintendent, John Tyler, to organise 34 prisoners to travel to London and demonstrate carpet weaving at the Colonial and Indian Exhibition. Although Abdul himself didn’t travel to London, he also assisted Tyler in choosing two gold bracelets, which Tyler gave to Queen Victoria upon her visit to the exhibition. While she was there, Victoria asked Tyler to arrange for two men to travel to Britain and join her service for a year. Abdul was soon chosen, along with Mohammed Bukhsh. Before travelling to Britain, they were given basic lessons in English language and manners.
Within days of their arrival at Windsor Castle, Abdul and Mohammed were put to work, serving Queen Victoria for the first time in 23rd June 1887. Victoria talks of the event in her journal: “[…] — Drove down to Frogmore with Beatrice to breakfast, & met Vicky & young Vicky there. My 2 Indian servants were there, & began to wait. The one, Mohamed Buxsh, very dark, with a very smiling expression, has been a servant before with Gen: Dennehy, & also with the Rana of Dholpore, & the other, much younger, called Abdul Karim, in much lighter, tall, & with a fine serious countenance. His father is a native doctor at Agra. They both kissed my feet. […]”
Victoria had always been fascinated by India, its people, food and culture. However, despite being Empress of India, she was never allowed to visit, due to both her age and fears over her safety. When Abdul and Mohammed entered her service, Victoria's fascination intensified. On 3rd August, she “started learning a few words of Hindustani to speak to my servants” and by the end of the month, she had tried an “excellent curry”, which had been made by one of the two men. It wasn’t long before curry made a regular appearance on the royal menu! She also arranged for Abdul to receive additional English lessons, in return for him teaching her Urdu.
“It is a great interest to me for both the language and the people, I have naturally never come into real contact with before”
It’s clear that Victoria quickly gained an unconventional relationship with Karim, who had become the closest person to the Queen. In August 1888, after months of complaining of his higher rank back in India, Queen Victoria promoted Abdul to the role of her ‘Munshi’, meaning ‘teacher’ in Hindustani. In her journal, Victoria wrote that “I particularly wish to retain his service as he helps me in studying Hindustani, which interests me very much, & he is very intelligent & useful”.
Although his primary role was to teach the queen, his new title also gave him a hefty pay rise; put him in charge of the other Indian servants; allowed him to sit with Victoria and the royal household to eat meals; as well as being given private rooms at Balmoral, which had previously been occupied by Queen Victoria’s controversial Highland servant, John Brown. Abdul also began accompanying Victoria to all kinds of events. In 1893, she had him officially present to the King of Italy, who himself was confused by Abdul presence.
Although Victoria was proud of Abdul and believed he should be treated with the highest respect, many members of her household disagreed, and were instead concerned that he was manipulating the aging Queen for his own power gain. This is possible as in November 1888, Karim returned to India for four months. While he was there, he wrote to Victoria claiming that his father was retiring and hoped for a pension. Wanting to impress her Munshi, Victoria spent the first six months of 1889 writing to the Viceroy of India, demanding action. However, he didn’t retire until at least 1893 and in 1894, it was discovered that Waziruddin “was not the surgeon-general but only the apothecary at the jail”, suggesting that Abdul had lied to the queen about his father’s position. This was just one of many incidents that caused much concern.
In June 1889, Abdul’s brother- in-law, Haurmet Ali, sold one of Victoria’s brooches to a jeweller in Windsor. When Victoria asked Abdul to explain what happened, he simply explained that in India you automatically owned anything you found, therefore giving Ali the right to sell it. Although this may have been true, Victoria believed his excuse, however the chances of him simply “finding” such a valuable brooch is extremely unlikely, suggesting that it was deliberately stolen.
With each month that passed, animosity towards Abdul grew ever stronger, particularly amongst Victoria’s children, who began to complain about his constant presence. At a party hosted by Victoria’s eldest son, the Prince of Wales, Abdul was deliberately allocated a seat with the servants. Out of protest, Abdul returned to his room while Victoria spent the entire event defending her Munshi. The same happened in 1894 at the wedding of Victoria’s granddaughter, Princess Victoria Melita. However, this time, Abdul simply refused to attend. In a letter to Sir Henry Ponsoby, Victoria furiously wrote that “to make out that the poor good Munshi is so low is really outrageous in a country like England”. But in the eyes of all but Victoria, Abdul was of a low rank and would never be recognised in the way the Queen wished. Despite receiving nothing but negative comments about Abdul, Victoria naively brushed it off as “racial hatred”. Her sense of responsibility to protect the welfare of Abdul and her other Indian servants is perhaps the reason for her positive attitude.
In 1890, Abdul underwent surgery to drain a boil on his neck. Afterwards, Victoria visited his rooms twice a day to sign her boxes, take her regular lessons; as well as examining his neck and smoothing his pillows. This was unusual as a queen wouldn’t usually pay this much attention to the recovery of her household, let alone a servant! She had only given this level of care to other people, such as Albert and John Brown.
In many of her later letters to Abdul, Victoria signs them off as “your affectionate mother, V.R.I” and “Your truly devoted and fond loving mother, V.R.I”, suggesting that she thought of him as a son. On one occasion, they visited Victoria's private lodge, Glas-allt-Shiel, alone. It’s believed that they shared deep conversations, which the queen had missed since the death of Prince Albert.
Knowing that Abdul would be sent back to India after her death, Victoria wanted to do everything she could to protect his future. In 1890, she wrote to Lord Lansdowne to request “a grant of land to her really exemplary and excellent young Munshi”. Although at first the request was declined, Victoria's insistence finally paid off and by 30th October, land had been found.
As Victoria's dependence on Abdul increased, so did his influence. When talks began about introducing elected councils in India, Abdul urged Victoria to write to Lansdowne to to voice “her” concerns that Muslims would receive less seats due to their minority. She also requested that Hindu feasts be rescheduled so they didn’t coincide with Muslim feasts and events. However, Lansdowne quickly dismissed her request due to its divisiveness.
Abdul’s ego was now stronger than ever and he soon began treating the royal palaces as his own kingdom. In 1892, the addition of the Durbar Wing at Osborne House (Queen Victoria’s home on the Isle of Wight) was completed. The main corridor was hung with portraits of Abdul, Maharaja Duleep Singh and other Indian servants. As well as requesting multiple portraits of Abdul, Victoria often had him photograph. Upon his appointment as Munshi, all photos of him serving tables were destroyed and by the 1890’s, he was central to all photos, often in powerful poses. In many photos of him and the Queen, Abdul is the main focus, while a small, frail Victoria can be seen attending her boxes at the side; suggesting he was the power behind the throne. Many of the portraits are still on display in the Durbar Wing at Osborne and can be seen by anyone that visits the house.
In 1895, Abdul was appointed a companion of the Order of the Indian Empire as part of the Queen’s birthday honours. This was probably one of the worst moves by Victoria as it only made Abdul more arrogant.
Not only was he hated by other royals and the Queen’s household, but also the servants. He began refusing to travel with other Indian servants, who he saw as a much lower class. He also started claiming the maid’s bathrooms for his own personal use. He also insisted on travelling by his own carriage and having the best seats at the opera.
After spending six months in India, Abdul returned to Britain with his wife and mother-in-law. In her journal, Victoria wrote that “the two Indian ladies … who are, I believe, the first Mohammedan purdah ladies who ever came over … keep their custom of complete seclusion and of being entirely covered when they go out, except for the holes for their eyes”. Victoria took a huge interest in Karim and his family and gave them cottages at both Balmoral and Osborne. As she had with Abdul, Victoria liked showing the women off to female members of her household, friends and family members. As women, they were allowed to see the women without their veils.
One visitor, Marie Mallet, maid-in-waiting to Queen Victoria, who had been “commanded” to visit the Karina, described Abdul’s wife as “fat and not uncomely, a delicate shade of chocolate and gorgeously attired, rings on her fingers, rings on her nose, a pocket mirror set in turquoises on her thumb and every feasible part of her person hung with chains and bracelets and ear-rings, a rose-pink veil on her head bordered with heavy gold and splendid silk and satin swathings round her person. She speaks English in a limited manner …”
Along with ensuring they had comfortable homes, Victoria was also concerned about their lack of children. As a result, she arranged for a female doctor to examine Mrs Karim. Eventually, they found out that Abdul had gonorrhoea. Although they never had any children of their own, Abdul’s nephew, Abdul Rashid, moved in with the Karim family in August 1897.
While preparing for their annual trip to Cimiez, in March 1897, the royal household collectively threatened to resign if Abdul joined them on the trip. Victoria, filled with nothing but anger, swept everything off her desk. After she refused to submit, the household backed down from their threat.
Abdul’s life fell apart when Queen Victoria died in January 1901. Almost immediately after, the new King Edward VII demanded that Abdul and his family should be sent back to India. Not only had he lost his home, but he also had to give up all of the letters and signed photographs that he had received from Victoria. Each one was burnt besides a few, which were kept by his family in India. Abdul was allowed to travel back for her funeral and was granted special permission to be the last person to see Victoria’s body before her casket was closed.
In 1905/06 (the date isn’t complete known), Prince George, later King George V, visited Abdul while he was on a trip to India. Afterwards, he wrote to the king, describing Abdul as “most civil and humble and really pleased to see us”. Although they may not have necessarily got on while Victoria was alive, it must have been a comfort for them to meet again. Abdul died a few years later, on 20th April 1909, at Karim Lodge in Agra. He was aged just 46. His body was placed in a mausoleum in the Panchkuin Kabaristan cemetery, next to his father.
Although we don’t know the true extent of the relationship between Victoria and Abdul, I think we can safely agree that it was mutually beneficial; Abdul gained the power and privilege he had always wanted, while Victoria spent the final fourteen years of her life with a companion that gave her the intellectual and philosophical conversations she had missed out on after the death of Prince Albert in 1861.
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