Dining table in the Durbar Room, Osborne House, Isle of Wight
Designed by Rudyard Kipling’s father, Lockwood Kipling, and master carver Bhai Ram Singh, this unique room is detailed with intricate Indian-style plaster work to reflect Queen Victoria’s status as Empress of India.
The room was the venue for ceremonial dinners for European royalty and the backdrop to Queen Victoria’s favourite theatrical entertainments. A new banqueting table re-creates the scene of a dinner held in the Durbar Room in the late 19th century, and Indian gifts are displayed in new cabinets.
The survival of exquisite interiors such as the Durbar room has made Osborne a popular venue for filming period pieces. Most recently, the Durbar room featured in the 2017 film ‘Victoria and Abdul’ by Universal studios and starring Dame Judi Dench and Ali Fazal.