Photograph of Prince Edward of Wales standing on a chequered terrace floor as he opens the new Victoria memorial in Kolkata (Calcutta). Seated on either side of the Prince is the Earl of Ronaldshay (1876-1961), Governor of Bengal and his wife Lady Cicely Ronaldshay, neé Archdale (1886-1973) both of whom are seated. Standing behind the Prince are uniformed officers. Seated behind the Prince is likely Sir Bijay Chand Mahtab, Maharajadhiraja Bahadur of Burdwan.

The Victoria memorial is built from Makrana marble and features 25 galleries. Its design mirrors that of the Taj Mahal in Agra and was built between 1906 and 1921. The Viceroy of India, Lord Curzon of Kedleston, conceived the idea of building a memorial to the Queen on her death in 1901.

On October 26 1921, Edward, Prince of Wales left Portsmouth to begin a tour of the Indian Subcontinent and Japan that covered 41,000 miles, lasting 8 months. Prince Edward spent four months in India, travelling from Bombay to Calcutta and then from Madras to Karachi. As the British Empire's Ambassador, the Prince visited India on behalf of his father King George V, to thank the nation for the essential role it had played during the First World War. Moreover, the visit was intended to strengthen links between Britain and its Empire at a time of increasing calls for Indian independence.