While Britain is set to celebrate the Queen Elizabeth's 60 years on the throne, the same celebration for her great-great-grandmother Queen Victoria was nearly derailed by her scandalous relation with an Indian servant just over a century ago.
Queen Victoria had turned so infatuated with tall, handsome Muslim Abdul Karim that senior royal advisers plotted to have her declared insane just days before her Jubilee unless she halted a controversial plan to knight him, The Sun reported Monday.
Britain's Channel 4 is all set to telecast a documentary on Queen Victoria's Last Love, Wednesday 9 p.m, highlighting how she once turned so infatuated with tall, handsome Muslim Abdul Karim that senior royal advisers plotted to have her declared insane just days before her Jubilee unless she halted a controversial plan to knight him, The Sun reported Monday.
The 24-year-old waiter had begun serving the Queen's table in 1887 after being sent to London as a "gift" from the Indian outpost of her empire. He soon began bewitching her with romantic tales of mysterious India besides cooking delicious curries for her.
But royal biographer Jane Ridley believes Abdul's striking looks also helped to draw in the Queen.
In 1901, when she finally died, the protection Abdul had enjoyed came to a sudden end. He was later exiled to India.
The 24-year-old waiter had begun serving the Queen's table in 1887 after being sent to London as a "gift" from the Indian outpost of her empire. He soon began bewitching her with romantic tales of mysterious India besides cooking delicious curries for her.
But royal biographer Jane Ridley believes Abdul's striking looks also helped to draw in the Queen.
Abdul was elevated from waiter to Queen's personal teacher, or "Munshi". After he began to teach her a few words in Hindi, the pair grew ever closer.
She had been starved of affection since the death of her beloved husband Albert in 1861, and Abdul Karim's great-grandson, Javed Mahmood, says it is not hard to see why she fell for his great-grandad.
By 1894, Abdul was elevated to the position of Her Majesty's Indian Secretary - making him an official member of the inner circle.
Abdul's class troubled the Queen's advisers who were also scandalised by his race.
But the more the royal household attacked Abdul, the more the Queen defended him.
Investigators sent to India by the royal household found Abdul's father was a pharmacist who worked in Agra jail, where Abdul himself had worked as a mere clerk.
The revelation only served to push the Queen closer to Abdul. She turned even more intimate with him. When he became ill she would spend long periods in his bedchamber, fluffing his pillows and stroking his hand.
In 1897, with just weeks to go until Victoria's Diamond Jubilee, the Queen announced she planned to knight Abdul.
The Viceroy of India joined forces with the prime minister to oppose the move. In response, Victoria threatened to pull out of the Jubilee celebrations.
With the biggest event that the British monarchy had ever seen under threat, the Queen's eldest son, Bertie - later Edward VII - stepped in.
Victoria had to admit defeat and Abdul did not get his knighthood.
But Abdul was constantly by her side for the Jubilee celebrations. For the remaining four years of Victoria's life, she was inseparable from her beloved servant.
In 1901, when she finally died, the protection Abdul had enjoyed came to a sudden end. He was later exiled to India.
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