RAWALPINDI. The Prince & Princess of Wales with four Maharajas at the Garden Party during their 1905-1906 Royal Tour in India

RAWALPINDI.  T.R.H. The Prince & Princess of Wales with Indian Princes on the Royal Tour of 1905-1906.

A very good group portrait showing H.R.H. the Princess of Wales [later Queen Mary] seated in front of the H.R.H. The Prince of Wales [later King George V] with four Indian Princes in a somewhat informal grouping in front of a cannon during a garden party at Rawalpindi on their 1905-6 Royal Tour of India.The photograph measures 8½ x 6½ ins and on the reverse has the photographer’s stamp of J &H KING, Simla. From the left the figures are H.H. The Maharaja of Alwar [wearing the uniform of his own lancers, the belt buckle with their very distinctive badge of crossed katars, with Hessian boots and wearing the medal for the 1903 Durbar], H.R.H. The Prince of Wales [later King George V], H.H. the Maharaja Sir Pratap Singh of Idar [rather unusually in very plain civilian dress], H H the Maharaja of Jodhpur in Colonel’s uniform wearing the 1903 Durbar medal, H.H. Maharaja Sir Ganga Singh of Bikaner in the uniform of his camel corps. This garden partry took place on the 8th December 1905 and the Prince spent three days with Lord Kitchener observing huge military manouevres involving around a fifth of the Army in India [over 7,000 Cavalry & 35,000 Infantry], a very good account of which appears as Chapter 12 in Stanley Reed’s The Royal Tour in India [Tumes of India, Bombay 1906]. We usually have copies on the website.    jul27/3

A few years ago our printer made us correspendebce cards using this very photograph.  We will soon be having new designs printed,