 In March 1897 as members of the Household prepared to depart for Cimiez for the Queen 's annual visit , they insisted that Karim not accompany the royal party , and decided to resign if he did so . When Harriet Phipps , one of the Queen 's maids of honour , informed her of the collective decision , the Queen swept the contents of her desk onto the floor in a fury . The Household backed down , but the holiday was marred by increased resentment and rows between the Household and Victoria . She thought their distrust and dislike of Karim was motivated by " race prejudice " and jealousy . When Rafiuddin Ahmed joined Karim in Cimiez , the Household forced him to leave , which Victoria thought " disgraceful " , and she asked the prime minister to issue an apology to Ahmed , explaining he was only excluded because he had written articles in newspapers and pressmen were not permitted . Ponsonby wrote in late April , " [ the Munshi ] happens to be a thoroughly stupid and uneducated man , and his one idea in life seems to be to do nothing and to eat as much as he can . " Reid warned the Queen that her attachment to Karim had led to questions about her sanity , and Hamilton telegraphed to Elgin requesting information on the Munshi and his family in an effort to discredit him . On receiving Elgin 's reply that they were " Respectable and trustworthy ... but position of family humble " , Hamilton concluded " the Munshi has done nothing to my knowledge which is reprehensible or deserving of official stricture ... enquiries wd not be right , unless they were in connection with some definite statement or accusation . " He did , however , authorise further investigation of the " Mohamedan intriguer named Rafiuddin " . Nothing was ever proven against Ahmed , who later became a Bombay government official and was knighted in 1932 . The effect of the row , in Hamilton 's words , was " to put him [ the Munshi ] more into his humble place , and his influence will not be the same in the future " . 
