The King-Emperor's Message to the Rulers of the Indian States on the Inauguration of the Chamber of Princes, February 1921

GEORGE THE FIFTH, by the Grace of God of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and of the British Dominions beyond the Seas, King, Defender of the Faith, Emperor of India.

To My Viceroy and Governor-General, and to the Princes and Rulers of the Indian States Greeting.

        1. In My Royal Proclamation of December, 1919, I gave earnest of My affectionate care and regard for the Ruling Princes and Chiefs of the Indian States by signifying My assent to the establishment of a Chamber of Princes. During the year that has since passed My Viceroy and many of the Princes themselves have been engaged in framing for My approval a constitution for the Chamber and the rules and regulations necessary to ensure the smooth and efficient performance of its important functions.

        This work is now complete, and it remains for Me to take the final steps to bring the Chamber into being, in the confident hope that the united counsels of the Princes and Rulers, assembled in formal conclave, will be fruitful of lasting good both to themselves and their subjects, and by advancing the interests that are common to their territories and to British India, will benefit My Empire as a whole. It is in this hope that I have charged My revered and beloved Uncle, His Royal Highness the Duke of Connaught and Strathearn, to perform on My behalf the ceremony of the inauguration of the Chamber of Princes.

        2. It is My firm belief that a future full of great and beneficent activities lies before the Chamber thus established. To the Princes, long versed in the arts of government and statesmanship, it will open still wider fields of Imperial Service. It will afford them opportunities, of which, I am convinced, they will be prompt to avail themselves, of comparing experience, interchanging ideas, and framing mature and balanced conclusions on matters of common interest. Nor will less advantage accrue to My Viceroy and the officers serving under him, to whom the prudent counsels and considered advice of the Chamber cannot fail to be of the greatest assistance. The problems of the future must be faced in a spirit of co-operation and mutual trust.

        It is in this spirit that I summon the Princes of India to a larger share in My Councils. I do so in full reliance upon their devotion to My Throne and Person, proved as it has been both in long years of peace and in the terrible ordeal of the Great War, and in the confident anticipation that by this means the bonds of mutual understanding will be strengthened and the growing identity of interest between the Indian States and the rest of My Empire will be fostered and developed.

        3. In My former Proclamation I repeated the assurance, given on many occasions by My Royal predecessors and Myself, of My determination ever to maintain unimpaired the privileges, rights, and dignities of the Princes of India. The Princes may rest assured that this pledge remains inviolate and inviolable. I now authorize My Viceroy to publish the terms of the Constitution of the new Chamber.

        My Viceroy will take its counsel freely in matters relating to the territories of the Indian States generally, and in matters that affect those territories jointly with British India, or with the rest of My Empire. It will have no concern with the internal affairs of individual States or their Rulers or with the relations of Individual States to My Government, while the existing rights of the States and their freedom of action will be in no way prejudiced or impaired. It is My earnest hope that the Princes of India will take regular part in the deliberations of the Chamber; but attendance will be a matter of choice, not of constraint. There will be no obligation upon any member to record his opinion, by vote or otherwise, upon any question that may come under discussion; and it is further My desire that, at the discretion of My Viceroy, an opportunity shall be given to any Prince who has not taken a part in the deliberations of the Chamber to record his views on any question that the Chamber has had under its consideration.

        4. I pray that the blessing of Divine Providence may rest upon the labours of the Chamber; that its deliberations may be inspired by true wisdom and moderation; and that it may seek and find its best reward in promoting the general weal and in increasing the strength and unity of the mighty Empire over which I have been called upon to rule.

From: A. Berriedale Keith, ed. Speeches and Documents on Indian Policy, 1750-1921. Vol. II. London: Humphrey Milford, Oxford University Press, 1922, 332-335.