Delhi Durbar of 1877 In Honour of Queen Victoria, 1877 Photo
A rare 1877 photo shows a panoramic view of the Delhi Durbar of 1877 in honour of Queen Victoria. The Queen born in 1819, was one of the longest-ruling British Monarchs. She ruled for 63 years, from 1837 to 1901, this period was known as the Victorian era. By an act of the British Parliament, she was conferred with the additional title “Empress of India” in 1876.
Viceroy Lord Lytton decided to hold a durbar in 1877 to honour the Queen. A large number of people, ten thousand or more attended the ceremony, which had been remarkably more than expected by the organizers. Viceroy Lord Lytton read out the proclamation in English and then in Urdu. The dignitaries included Maharajas, British governors, heads of administration, and so on.
The long ceremony was said to have concluded with a 101-gun salute to the sovereign. There would be two more Delhi Durbars one in 1903, and the other in 1911. The Delhi Durbar was variously known: as the Imperial Durbar, Imperial Assemblage, Proclamation Durbar, Coronation Durbar, and so on. However, ten years later in 1887, the country would celebrate Queen Victoria’s golden jubilee.
Did you know – besides a 101 gun salute for Victoria, in the colonial era the salute for the Viceroy was thirty-one guns. Other important chiefs were given 21, 19, 17, 15, 11, and 9 gun salutes depending on their relationship with the colonial raj.
From the collection – 1964 M. Suriyamoorthy Charcoal Art Abstract (#13)., King-Emperor George V In Bombay, 2 Postcards 1911., The Outskirts Of Delhi Jama Masjid – Old Print 1800s., Fort At Coylan – Antique Map / Plan 1764.
