The Delhi Durbar, 1911

Photograph, India, 1911.

The Durbar was held for the formal purpose of enabling King George V as Emperor of India to announce his coronation to his subjects in India, and to receive homage from the Viceroy and his officers, and from the Indian ruling princes. The Emperor and Empress, Queen Mary, sat on a covered dais in an arena composed of two amphitheatres. The total number of participants and spectators was estimated at 100,000, including over 30,000 British and Indian soldiers.