Is this a Delhi Durbar Car?

The 1912 Standard Limousine in India

The Delhi Durbar, meaning "Court of Delhi"  was a mass assembly at Delhi, to commemorate the coronation of the King and Queen of the United Kingdom,  and Emperor and Empress of India, which took place three times between 1877 to 1911 at the height of the British Empire. The 1911 Durbar was the only one to be attended by the sovereign, who was George V.

Practically every ruling prince, nobleman, landed and other persons of note in India attended to pay obeisance to their sovereigns. The Sovereigns appeared in their Coronation robes, the King-Emperor wearing the Imperial Crown of India, with eight arches, containing six thousand one hundred and seventy exquisitely cut diamonds and covered with sapphires, emeralds and rubies, with a velvet and miniver cap all weighing 34.05 ounces (965 g). They then appeared at the jharoka (balcony window) of Red Fort to receive half a million or more people who had come to greet them.

The cars used by the Royal Party at the Delhi Durbar, 70 in number, were supplied by the Standard Motor Company, who were selected in preference to the Daimler Company, who may well have expected the commission at that time. Without doubt this was a sales coup and is largely attributed to the skills of Charles Friswell who was solely responsible for Standard Sales in London at the time. It is also without doubt The Standard Motor Company's most important Export order.

It has to be said that at the moment I do not have the evidence that this is one of these 70 cars, but I see no other reason why a big bodied Standard of this nature should be in India at that time. If you observe the unusual shape to the top of the rear doors, it is not difficult to imagine that it was designed to accommodate the gentlemen's Top Hats and the ladies elaborate creations! The car appears to be a 4 cylinder, probably 15Hp but again I have no confirmation as yet.

What is clear from the photographs is that the car now appears to be in regular use for shows. Perhaps when the owner sees this page he will be encouraged to email me with more details or history of the car, In the meantime, I would like to thank Karl Bhote our correspondent in India,  for sending these photos to me. 

You can click through any of these photos to see an enlargement:

If any more information becomes available I will update this page