'Delhi Durbar 1911'

Photograph, India, 1911.

Entrance to the Maharaja of Kashmir's Camp at the Delhi Durbar in 1911. The front of the Kashmir Camp was palisaded with decorative Kashmiri woodwork. The gateway structures seen in this picture were made of the same dark, carved wood with copper roofs. The impressive camp of pavilions can be seen in the background.

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.

From an album of 44 photographs compiled by officers of 3rd Royal Battalion (Sikhs), 12th Frontier Regiment, redesignated the 53rd Sikhs (Frontier Force), 1909-1922.