With Our King and Queen Through India
| With Our King and Queen Through India | |
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With Our King and Queen Through India, extract
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| Produced by | Charles Urban |
| Cinematography | Joseph De Frenes Albuin Mariner Alfred Gosden Hiram Horton |
| Distributed by | Natural Color Kinematograph Company |
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Release date
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2 February 1912 |
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Running time
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150 min. |
| Country | United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland |
| Language |
Silent English intertitles |
With Our King and Queen Through India (1912) is a British documentary. The film is silent and made in the Kinemacolor additive color process.
The film records the 12 December 1911 celebrations in India which marked the coronation of George V and his proclamation as Emperor of India. The films is often referred to as The Delhi Durbar or The Durbar at Delhi. Although it is commonly referred to as a single film, it is more accurate to think of it as a set of films documenting the royal visit to India in December 1911, with the Durbar ceremony as the centrepiece. Different showings of With Our King and Queen Through India would be made up of different sets of the films, so that the show (a more accurate concept) was exhibited in several different lengths. Today only one reel (approx. 10 minutes) survives, showing a review of troops after the main ceremony.
The film showcased the use of Kinemacolor, which had been launched by Charles Urban in 1908 as the first successful natural colour motion picture process. It was produced by Urban's Natural Color Kinematograph Company and he took five camera operators with him: Joseph De Frenes, Albuin Mariner, Alfred Gosden, Hiram Horton and an unidentified fifth (possibly John Mackenzie).
British filmmakers had previously filmed the Delhi Durbar marking the coronation of King Edward VII in 1903 (which Edward did not attend).
The films were premiered at the Scala Theatre, London on 2 February 1912, with an accompaniment provided by a live orchestra of forty-eight pieces, a chorus of twenty-four, a twenty-piece fife and drum corps, and three bagpipes. The music echoed that played at the actual ceremonies in Delhi. The stage set featured a mock-up of the Taj Mahal, and there were elaborate lighting effects. Live commentary was provided by the Scala's stage manager St John Hamund. An article in the American periodical Munsey's Magazine praised the music, describing the band as "one of the best I have heard in London".
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