Queen Victoria, Mustapha and Chidda

A cabinet card portrait of Queen Victoria, seen here with Mustapha and Chidda, two of her Indian servants. The photograph was taken in 1896 and issued to the public in 1897, the year of the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.

The two men are both sporting the Queen’s monogram on their livery – VRI for Victoria Regina Imperatrix [Victoria Queen and Empress] – as well as an impressive array of medals. They are identified by some sources as Hafiz Mohammed Abdul Karim – ‘the Munshi’ – and Mohammed Buksh but I’m following the identification given by the website of the Royal Collection Trust.

Photographed by Gunn and Stuart of London and Richmond.