This oil sketch of Abdul Karim probably shows him in the Green Drawing-Room at Windsor. The Munshi Abdul Karim entered Queen Victoria’s service in 1887 as her personal Indian servant. Munshi means writer or secretary and was the title used in British India for native language teachers or secretaries. In 1888 he became the Queen’s official Indian Secretary. He taught her Hindi and she considered him ‘a perfect gentleman’. On his accession to the throne, however, Edward VII sent the Munshi back to India. He was given a pension in 1901 and died in Agra in 1909. His portrait was also painted twice by Rudolph Swoboda (RCIN 403830 and 403031) and by Heinrich von Angeli (RCIN 406915). Signed and dated on the back: L Tuxen Windsor 1887.