Lord Lansdowne, a personal letter to the Begum of Bhopal, 1893. conveying his own and Queen Victoria’s regards to the ruler.

A personal letter addressed to H. H. The Begum of Bhopal, G.C.S.I., C.I. written on three sides of a sheet of folded writing paper embossed in blue with the address GOVERNMENT HOUSE, CALCUTTA, dated Dec. 31st. 1893 written in the Viceroy’s own distinctively sloping writing and signed Lansdowne. The letter has small holes top left and a little damage left where it has been stab sewn into a folder.  The letter begins My Esteemed Friend , typical of official Viceregal letters and thanks her for her kind wishes as his period of office draws to a close and also responds to a loyal message she had asked him to convey to the Queen Empress, remarking that Her Majesty told me of the pleasure with which she had received the message and desired me to thank you & assure you of Her goodwill. He also sends Lady Lansdowne’s best wishes, concluding  I remain, my esteemed friend, Your Highness’s sincere friend Lansdow\ne.     aug14/2

The letter is a good example of how messages were conveyed, in all but the most unusual cases, between the sovereign and a senior prince through the Viceroy. It is even quite unusual to find letters between the Viceroy and a ruler to be written in his own hand but the Lansdownes had an unusually close relatonship with the Begum. This can today be seen in the displays of photographs of the time on display at the family’s seat of Bowood House in Wiltshire.