Exhibition on Delhi Durbars held during British Raj set up in Capital

The British held three ceremonial durbars, or imperial mass assemblies, at the Coronation Park in Delhi

- Sadia Akhtar

The first, in 1877, was staged to declare Queen Victoria as the Empress of India. The second durbar, in 1903, proclaimed the succession of her son King Edward VII as emperor.

However, the third durbar in 1911, was held in the grandest of scales, for the proclamation of King George V as the emperor of India. George V himself attended the event with his consort Queen Mary, marking the first time that a ruling British monarch visited the country.

As part of the celebrations, armchairs were specially crafted to seat high-ranking dignitaries at the park's amphitheatre, and were decorated with banners bearing the legend "Delhi - 1911", the imperial cypher GRI (George Rex Imperator referring to George V), and an armorial shield with the coat of arms of the British monarch.