Abdul Karim (the Munshi) - Royal Servant

Royal Servant

After a journey by rail from Agra to Bombay and by mail steamer to Britain, Karim and Buksh arrived at Windsor Castle in June 1887. They were put under the charge of Major-General Dennehy and first served the Queen at breakfast in Frogmore House at Windsor on 23 June 1887. The Queen described Karim in her diary for that day: "The other, much younger, is much lighter, tall, and with a fine serious countenance. His father is a native doctor at Agra. They both kissed my feet."

Five days later, the Queen noted that "The Indians always wait now and do so, so well and quietly." On 3 August, she wrote: "I am learning a few words of Hindustani to speak to my servants. It is a great interest to me for both the language and the people, I have naturally never come into real contact with before." On 20 August she had some "excellent curry" made by one of the servants. By 30 August Karim was teaching her Urdu, which she used during an audience in December to greet the Maharani Chimnabai of Baroda.

Victoria took a great liking to Karim and ordered that he was to be given additional tuition in the English language. By February 1888 he had "learnt English wonderfully" according to Victoria. After he complained to the Queen that he had been a clerk in India and thus menial work as a waiter was beneath him, he was promoted to the position of "Munshi" in August 1888. Photographs of him waiting at table were destroyed and he became the first personal Indian clerk to the Queen. Buksh remained in the Queen's service, but only as a khidmatgar or table servant, until his death at Windsor in 1899.

According to Karim biographer Sushila Anand, the Queen's own letters testify to the fact that "her discussions with the Munshi were wide-ranging—philosophical, political and practical. Both head and heart were engaged. There is no doubt that the Queen found in Abdul Karim a connection with a world that was fascinatingly alien, and a confidant who would not feed her the official line." Karim was placed in charge of the other Indian servants and made responsible for their accounts. Victoria praised him in her letters and journal. "I am so very fond of him" she wrote, "He is so good & gentle & understanding all I want & is a real comfort to me." She admired "her personal Indian clerk & Munshi, who is an excellent, clever, truly pous & very refined gentle man, who says, 'God ordered it' ... God's Orders is what they implicitly obey! Such faith as theirs & such conscientiousness set us a gt. example." At Balmoral Castle, the Queen's Scottish estate, Karim was allocated the room previously occupied by John Brown, a favourite servant of the Queen's who had died in 1883. Despite the serious and dignified manner that Karim presented to the outside world, the Queen wrote that "he is very friendly and cheerful with the Queen's maids and laughs and even jokes now—and invited them to come and see all his fine things offering them fruit cake to eat".