Victoria and Abdul: What Queen Victoria Knew About Muslims and India

Victoria and Abdul is based on a real relationship, but its portrayal of Queen Victoria’s knowledge of Abdul Karim, Muslim life and India is not a reliable guide to what she knew. Archival records document Karim’s role as her Urdu teacher, while historian Miles Taylor challenges the film’s suggestion that Victoria was unaware of Karim’s Muslim identity or had never encountered a mango. That correction does not make her free of the racial and imperial prejudices of her era.

How accurate is Victoria and Abdul?

The film draws on a genuine relationship: Mohammed Abdul Karim became Victoria’s Munshi, or teacher, and she studied Hindustani—often identified as Urdu—with him. The Royal Collection Trust catalogue describes surviving volumes of Victoria’s “Hindustani Diaries,” including Urdu exercises connected with her lessons. It says she began learning a few words in 1887. Royal Collection Trust’s catalogue entry documents the diary series, not every scene or conversation shown in the film.

#	Preview	Product	Price
1		Victoria & Abdul [Blu-ray]	$8.99	Buy on Amazon
2		Victoria & Abdul (BD + digital download) [Blu-ray] [2017]	$15.82	Buy on Amazon
3		Victoria & Abdul [Blu-ray]	$6.78	Buy on Amazon

Historian Miles Taylor disputes two notable elements of the film’s portrayal: that Victoria did not know Karim was Muslim and that she had never encountered a mango before he introduced one. His account says she had tasted mango decades earlier, after mangoes were exported from Bombay, including as a gift for the young Queen. These are Taylor’s historical corrections to the film’s premise, rather than a complete scene-by-scene verdict. Taylor’s 2018 article also argues that Victoria took an active interest in Muslim subjects and Indian policy.

Did Queen Victoria know Abdul Karim was Muslim?

The film’s suggestion that Victoria did not know Karim’s religious identity is challenged by Taylor, who argues that she was interested in Muslim subjects and Indian affairs. The archival catalogue identifies Karim as her Indian secretary and Munshi and documents the teaching relationship; it does not, by itself, establish what Victoria knew at every point in their relationship. So the careful answer is that the movie’s premise is historically questionable, not that every detail of Victoria’s understanding is settled by the surviving record.

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What the surviving records establish about their relationship

Victoria studied Urdu with Karim

The lessons are not simply a cinematic invention. The Royal Collection Trust catalogue describes the surviving diary volumes as including daily exercises, some written in Urdu, associated with lessons from Karim. The catalogue lists volumes covering 1892–1900 and states that Victoria began learning a few words in 1887. These records support the existence and continuity of her study; they should not be treated as transcripts of private conversations.

The evidence for private conversations is incomplete

The surviving record does not preserve a full account of Victoria and Karim’s private exchanges. In a 2017 interview, author Shrabani Basu said relevant correspondence was destroyed after Victoria’s death and journal references to Karim were edited. That limitation matters when judging dialogue or intimate scenes: unless independently documented, the film’s conversations are dramatization, not verified quotations from the historical record. Basu’s interview with TIME discusses the book behind the film and these source limitations.

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Victoria & Abdul (BD + digital download) [Blu-ray] [2017]

• The disk has English audio.

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Did Victoria’s interest mean she held modern views?

No. Knowledge of Muslim life or interest in Indian policy does not establish religious equality or freedom from imperial assumptions. Taylor’s argument corrects an image of Victoria as wholly ignorant or uninterested; it does not show that she held modern egalitarian views. Historic Royal Palaces notes that Victoria shared prejudices of her age, while sometimes siding with Indians against her officials. Its account of Victoria offers that broader context.

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Bestseller No. 1

Victoria & Abdul [Blu-ray]

$8.99

Bestseller No. 2

Victoria & Abdul (BD + digital download) [Blu-ray] [2017]

The disk has English audio.

$15.82

Bestseller No. 3

Victoria & Abdul [Blu-ray]

$6.78

Rank #3

Victoria & Abdul [Blu-ray]

$6.78

Buy on Amazon

How to read the film’s historical claims

• Documented: Karim’s position as Victoria’s Munshi and her Urdu study are supported by the Royal Collection Trust catalogue.
• Historian’s correction: Taylor disputes the film’s presentation of Victoria as unaware of Karim’s Muslim identity and unfamiliar with mangoes.
• Dramatized unless independently documented: Private conversations and specific emotional exchanges should not be mistaken for archival transcripts.
• Important distinction: Victoria’s interest in Muslim subjects and India can coexist with the prejudices of her period.

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