Why was queen Victoria upset when she found out that Abdul was married?
The movie "Victoria and Abdul" shows the history of a unique friendship between the most powerful queen of the British Empire and a lowly Muslim servant from India.
At one stage, Abdul tells Victoria that "she is the most special person in his life, even more than his wife":
Abdul: When I first came to England, I was terrified of you. But you're a very kind lady. You're a very unique lady to me.
Victoria: And you are very, very unique to me, Abdul.
Abdul: I know that you are much older than me, and you are the Queen of England, and the Empress of India, and I'm just a humble munshi. But I think you are the most special person in my whole life. Even more special than my wife.
Victoria: Wife?
Abdul: Yes.
Victoria: You're married?
Abdul: Of course.
Victoria: Where is your wife?
Abdul: In India.
Victoria: why didn't you tell me you were married ?
Abdul: I didn't think it mattered.
Victoria: Well, of course it matters. It changes everything. You must return to India immediately. And bring her back at once.
Later on, Victoria brings it back again, saying that Abdul really hurt her by not mentioning his wife:
Victoria: I promoted you in the face of considerable opposition and disquiet from the Household. I even turned a blind eye when you failed to tell me that you were married, which, as you know, came as quite a surprise.
Why is she so upset about it? Was it because she had some romantic feelings towards him? Seems unlikely, judging by her age (around 80 at this stage) and the fact that she still deeply loves her dead husband Albert.
Best Answer
Now admittedly, I haven't seen this film. But judging from this bit:
You must return to India immediately. And bring her back at once.
It sounds like she's upset not because Abdul is married, but because he had to leave his wife behind in India. So she's telling him to go fetch his wife and bring her to England so they can be together again.
Wikipedia's plot summary seems to confirm this interpretation:
When Victoria discovers he is married, she invites his wife and mother-in-law to join him to England.
No mention of her being upset at all, merely that she has his relatives join him in England.
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Did Queen Victoria have a friendship with Abdul?
\u201cWhen Prince Albert died, Victoria famously said that he was her husband, close friend, father, and mother,\u201d Basu wrote. \u201cI think it's likely that Abdul Karim fulfilled a similar role.\u201d Karim's descendants, having read the diary, similarly believe that the relationship was platonic and maternal at best.Did Queen Victoria and Prince Albert have a happy marriage?
As Queen Victoria's journal shows, from the moment she saw the prince arriving at the foot of the staircase at Windsor in 1839, she was smitten. Five days later she summoned him to her blue closet and proposed to him. But the marriage was not the romantic happy-ever-after story that Victoria constructed.Was Queen Victoria Albert faithful?
Unlike his brother or father, the puritanical Albert had no mistresses. True, her feelings for him were passionate and uncontrolled, and his for her more dutiful, but she didn't allow herself to notice this. Nor was her husband spontaneously affectionate.How old was Queen Victoria when she married Prince Albert?
In 1840, at the age of 20, Victoria married her cousin, Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha. Initially she was keen to assert her authority over her husband, even choosing Albert's household for him.More answers regarding why was queen Victoria upset when she found out that Abdul was married?
Answer 2
I agree with F1Krazy's answer. However, that explains the first interaction ("Well, of course it matters. It changes everything. You must return to India immediately. And bring her back at once"). Later in the movie, the queen is reacting differently.
Later, she says, "I even turned a blind eye when you failed to tell me that you were married." She is saying that royal subjects do not keep secrets from the Queen. They do not leave out important details about their lives, such as this detail. It is a sign of disrespect towards the Queen, especially since she and Abdul have developed such an intimate friendship. She "turned a blind eye" because many might have interpreted Abdul's omission as an insult to the monarchy.
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