It made it hard for him to concentrate on what Lady Curzon, who was on his other side, was saying.
People who found the Viceroy difficult and too pompous adored Mary Curzon.
An American, it was not until she reached Bombay in December 1898 that she realised the extraordinary distinction and isolation of the position that she and her husband were to occupy.
She wrote home to a friend,
“We might as well be Monarchs.”
They had gone ashore from the Liner that had conveyed them to a landing stage that was covered in crimson cloth and after speeches of welcome drove the seven miles to Government House through packed streets lined with soldiers.
Above their heads was held a golden umbrella, one of India’s most ancient and venerable symbols of Royalty.
Mary accepted with pleasure the endles
