 Karim asked Victoria for the title of " Nawab " , the Indian equivalent of a peer , and to appoint him a Knight Commander of the Order of the Indian Empire ( KCIE ) , which would make him " Sir Abdul Karim " . A horrified Elgin suggested instead that she make Karim a Member of the Royal Victorian Order ( MVO ) , which was in her personal gift , bestowed no title , and would have little political implication in India . Privy Purse Sir Fleetwood Edwards and Prime Minister Lord Salisbury advised against even the lower honour . Nevertheless in 1899 , on the occasion of her 80th birthday , Victoria appointed Karim a commander of the order ( CVO ) , a rank intermediate between member and knight . 
