indian servants stood guard over her coffin as it lay in state do you think the film will bring about change in peoples perception and help break the barriersat its heart this is a story about human relationships i think it is important to realise that at the height of empire a young muslim man had a central place in the queens court and provided her with the companionship that she longed for she valued him as a human being not caring about his religion nationality or class what happened to him after her death has resonances of brexit britain i do hope that people take away a message of love and tolerance from the book and the filmafter writing this book has your perception about the queen changedi discovered that queen victoria was ahead of her times she realised that her household and family were being racist towards abdul karim and she dealt with them very firmly she insisted they be polite to him and address him as the munshi she didnt believe in classbarriers either and always liked to connect with ordinary people her passion for learning urdu at such a late stage in her life was remarkable she never missed a lesson and kept a hindustani journal for thirteen yearswhat are you reading currently and what can we expect from you nextim surrounded by history books and memoirs at the moment i am reading simon sebag montefiores romanovs which is amazing just finished hisham matars the return which was very moving i am also trying to work on my next book it usually takes me a few years to write a book so it is still early daysalso watch ali fazal talks about victoria and abdulali fazal on his upcoming hollywood film victoria and abdul