 Karim 's swift rise began to create jealousy and discontent among the members of the Royal Household , who would normally never mingle socially with Indians below the rank of prince . The Queen expected them to welcome Karim , an Indian of ordinary origin , into their midst ; they were not willing to do so . Karim , for his part , expected to be treated as an equal . When Albert Edward , Prince of Wales ( later Edward VII ) , hosted an entertainment for the Queen at his home in Sandringham on 26 April 1889 , Karim found he had been allocated a seat with the servants . Feeling insulted , he retired to his room . The Queen took his part , stating that he should have been seated among the Household . When the Queen attended the Braemar Games in 1890 , her son Prince Arthur , Duke of Connaught and Strathearn , approached the Queen 's private secretary Sir Henry Ponsonby in outrage after he saw the Munshi among the gentry . Ponsonby suggested that as it was " by the Queen 's order " , the Duke should approach the Queen about it . " This entirely shut him up " , noted Ponsonby . 
