The British Council Movies

Scenes from a lavish pageant held during the royal visit to India, celebrating King George V’s coronation.

This official travelogue of a royal tour follows the Prince on a series of regimental displays and a tiger hunt.

The future Edward VIII visits his Empire, with Indian royalty, elephants, palaces and temples.

The Governor of Bengal and family - on and off duty.

The future Edward VIII enjoys a stately procession and visits the Taj Mahal before meeting senior Indian royalty.

The future Edward VIII visits Malakand, Kapurthala and opens the Royal Military College at Dehra Dun

This travelogue takes in some of the most important landmarks of Islamic power in India.

Fireworks, illuminations and traditional dance all feature in a stunningly opulent royal wedding at Kundla, Gujarat.

An elephantine spectacle, likely part of the celebrations for the visit of the Prince and Princess of Wales to India.

Amateur footage of Delhi and Jaipur, from a military review to an atmospheric torchlit procession - and some armour-plated elephants.

Lord Lytton takes up the post of Governor of Bengal.

Two sides of Mysore: down to earth with the field workers and an Indian spectacle for the Maharaja.

Amateur film of fishing and geese-shooting trips by a British party in India.

Evocative observational scenes of Simla and Lahore, including the gorgeous Shalimar Gardens and Anarkali Bazar.

The future Edward VIII enjoys stunning mountain scenery on a visit to the Khyber Pass during his royal tour

Luscious colour photography of the Taj Mahal and a Mediterranean cruise to Port Said.

Gorgeously dreamlike colour images of (then) French India – present-day Puducherry.

A state welcome for a Handley Page aircraft arriving in Kolkata.

Rural life in the mountainous valley near Gilgit - now in the Northern areas of Pakistan.

Grand buildings and missionary work come together in the 1947 Indian tour of construction magnate John W. Laing.