On 1 January 1877 the rulers of India gathered in Delhi to witness the formal announcement of Queen Victoria’s assumption of the title of Empress of India. Among them was Jaswant Singh II, Maharaja of Jodhpur (r. 1873–1895). He commissioned his Poet Laureate to compose these verses in praise of the QueenEmpress and Edward, Prince of Wales, which he sent to her to mark the occasion.