George V | Autograph letter signed, on his plans for a Coronation Durbar in Delhi, 1910

King George V

Autograph letter signed ("George R.I."), to Lord Morley, Secretary of State for India

regarding the 1911 Coronation Durbar at Delhi (" ... I mentioned to Mr Asquith. Ever since I visited India five years ago, I have been impressed with the great advantage which would result from a visit by the Sovereign to that great Empire ... I am convinced where it is possible for me, accompanied by the Queen, to go to India & hold a Coronation Durbar at Delhi, where we should meet all the Princes, Officials & vast numbers of people, the greatest benefits would accrue to the Country at large... I feel confident that my Ministers ... will appreciate my motives, which are actuated by a deep sense of duty & by my sympathetic interests in the Peoples of India ... I should like to hold the Durbar on January 1st 1913..."), 4 pages, 8vo, black and silver personal mourning stationery, 8 September 1910

The new King was crowned in England on 22 June 1911, and he later travelled to India for the Delhi Durbar. This was the third and final durbar to mark the succession of a new Emperor, and the only one to be attended by the sovereign. It was during this grand ceremony that the capital of India was shifted from Calcutta to Delhi, on 12 December 1911.

PROVENANCE:

Spink, 8 October 2015, lot 81