The Queen, already so dependent on him, entered in her Journal on 2 November: ‘Had my last Hindustani lesson, as good Abdul goes home to India tomorrow on leave, which I regret, as it will be very difficult to study alone, and he is very handy and useful in many ways.’ 10
Karim had landed on British shores to be a khidmatgar and waiter. A year later, he was returning to India on annual leave as a Munshi, the Queen’s teacher and official Indian clerk. He was still only twenty-five.
The days immediately after Karim’s departure for India were filled with news reports of the Jack the Ripper murders in Whitechapel in East London. The Queen busied herself with responding to the gruesome killings and indulged in her own spot of detective work. She shot off a letter to the Prime Minister, Lord Salisbury. ‘This new most ghastly murder shows the absolute necessity for some very decided action. All these courts must be lit and our detectives improved. They are not what they should be …’
The Home Secretary, Henry Matthews, got a rather more detailed note as the elderly Queen made her own suggestions on solving the crimes:
– Have the cattle boats and passenger boats been examined?
– Has any investigation been made as to the number of single men occupying rooms to themselves?
– The murderer’s clothes must be saturated with blood and must be kept somewhere.
– Is there sufficient surveillance at night?
These are some of the questions that occur to the Queen on reading the accounts of this horrible crime. 11
The Queen wrote to Karim regularly while he was away and enquired about his family. Karim let her know that his father, Wuzeeruddin, was due to retire soon and the family could face some financial hardships. He said his father was hoping the British government would give him a pension. Karim also informed her that Dr John Tyler, superintendent of the Agra Jail, wanted a promotion.
The Queen needed little prompting. She immediately wrote to the Viceroy, Lord Lansdowne, asking for a promotion for Tyler and a pension for Dr Mohammed Wuzeeruddin, the father of her ‘dear Munshi’. The Viceroy had barely taken up his new position from the outgoing Lord Dufferin and was still settling in when he was asked to make enquiries about Wuzeeruddin. He replied that he thought it advisable ‘not to take steps’ on the matter immediately upon his arrival, but suggested that he would do so when he visited Agra and ascertained the facts about both Tyler and Wuzeeruddin.
His answer did not satisfy the Queen, who was always impatient when she was on a mission. The Viceroy would soon learn that Queen Victoria could be very persistent when she needed something. Within days he received another telegram from her encouraging him to look at the matter urgently for Karim was returning to England on 25 February. The Queen wanted Karim to know that she had listened to his request and was trying to do something for his father while he was in India. She informed Lansdowne that while the Tyler matter could wait, he must attend to Wuzeeruddin’s request immediately.
On 22 February the Viceroy received another urgent telegram from the Queen at Windsor Castle:
It is much better to do nothing about Sir John Tyler till the Viceroy can see him himself. As regards Dr Wuzeeruddin, he wants nothing, the Queen believes, but a pension to live comfortably after 30 years’ service both as Military and Civil Doctor or rather Hospital Assistant. 12
Karim returned to Windsor in the spring of 1889 and the Queen was delighted to have him back, telling him how much she had missed him. The lessons were resumed and Karim watched over the boxes once again. The Royal entourage soon left for their European holiday, the Queen visiting Biarritz in France.
The Viceroy – given the job of enquiring after Tyler and Wuzeeruddin – decided to consult Sir Auckland Colvin, Governor of the North-West Provinces. After a lengthy
Karim had landed on British shores to be a khidmatgar and waiter. A year later, he was returning to India on annual leave as a Munshi, the Queen’s teacher and official Indian clerk. He was still only twenty-five.
The days immediately after Karim’s departure for India were filled with news reports of the Jack the Ripper murders in Whitechapel in East London. The Queen busied herself with responding to the gruesome killings and indulged in her own spot of detective work. She shot off a letter to the Prime Minister, Lord Salisbury. ‘This new most ghastly murder shows the absolute necessity for some very decided action. All these courts must be lit and our detectives improved. They are not what they should be …’
The Home Secretary, Henry Matthews, got a rather more detailed note as the elderly Queen made her own suggestions on solving the crimes:
– Have the cattle boats and passenger boats been examined?
– Has any investigation been made as to the number of single men occupying rooms to themselves?
– The murderer’s clothes must be saturated with blood and must be kept somewhere.
– Is there sufficient surveillance at night?
These are some of the questions that occur to the Queen on reading the accounts of this horrible crime. 11
The Queen wrote to Karim regularly while he was away and enquired about his family. Karim let her know that his father, Wuzeeruddin, was due to retire soon and the family could face some financial hardships. He said his father was hoping the British government would give him a pension. Karim also informed her that Dr John Tyler, superintendent of the Agra Jail, wanted a promotion.
The Queen needed little prompting. She immediately wrote to the Viceroy, Lord Lansdowne, asking for a promotion for Tyler and a pension for Dr Mohammed Wuzeeruddin, the father of her ‘dear Munshi’. The Viceroy had barely taken up his new position from the outgoing Lord Dufferin and was still settling in when he was asked to make enquiries about Wuzeeruddin. He replied that he thought it advisable ‘not to take steps’ on the matter immediately upon his arrival, but suggested that he would do so when he visited Agra and ascertained the facts about both Tyler and Wuzeeruddin.
His answer did not satisfy the Queen, who was always impatient when she was on a mission. The Viceroy would soon learn that Queen Victoria could be very persistent when she needed something. Within days he received another telegram from her encouraging him to look at the matter urgently for Karim was returning to England on 25 February. The Queen wanted Karim to know that she had listened to his request and was trying to do something for his father while he was in India. She informed Lansdowne that while the Tyler matter could wait, he must attend to Wuzeeruddin’s request immediately.
On 22 February the Viceroy received another urgent telegram from the Queen at Windsor Castle:
It is much better to do nothing about Sir John Tyler till the Viceroy can see him himself. As regards Dr Wuzeeruddin, he wants nothing, the Queen believes, but a pension to live comfortably after 30 years’ service both as Military and Civil Doctor or rather Hospital Assistant. 12
Karim returned to Windsor in the spring of 1889 and the Queen was delighted to have him back, telling him how much she had missed him. The lessons were resumed and Karim watched over the boxes once again. The Royal entourage soon left for their European holiday, the Queen visiting Biarritz in France.
The Viceroy – given the job of enquiring after Tyler and Wuzeeruddin – decided to consult Sir Auckland Colvin, Governor of the North-West Provinces. After a lengthy
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