February

Osborne House was built for Queen Victoria and Prince Albert as a private home. The Durbar Room is considered by many to be the most stunning of the staterooms. It was constructed in 1890-91 to provide a state banquet hall for Queen Victoria.

Designed and built by a Sikh architect, Bhai Ram Singh, the room is an excellent example of the Sikh decorative techniques that he excelled in. The awe-inspiring design is matched by the display of an exquisite collection of gifts given to Queen Victoria by the various rulers on the sub-continent. The name ‘Durbar’ is a Punjabi word meaning both a state reception and the hall within which such gatherings were held.

One of English Heritage’s most popular tourist attractions - Osborne House - is home to the famous portrait of Maharajah Duleep Singh by Winterhalter, along with other noteworthy Sikh portraits. The Durbar Corridor can be found alongside the Durbar Room. On the walls hang three small paintings of Maharajah Duleep Singh, his wife Maharani Bamba, and their son, Victor Albert, who was named in honor of the royal consort, Prince Albert.

The corridor also contains an extensive collection of portraits of other Sikh and Indian dignitaries, soldiers, craftsmen, and some of the servants who attended Queen Victoria in the 1880’s and 1890’s.

“As we are in complete possession since 1849 of the Maharajah’s enormous and splendid Kingdom the Queen thinks we ought to do everything to render the position of this interesting and peculiarly good and amiable Prince as agreeable as possible, and not to let him have the feeling that he is a prisoner.”

Lady Login’s Recollections, London 1890