The next few days were spent by Lord Lytton in receiving the sixty-three[4] Ruling Princes of India according to the strictest etiquette.  Each Prince, with his suite, was met at the entrance to the camp, and conducted up the street to the durbar tent by mounted officers, the salute to which he was entitled being fired while the procession moved on.  He was then presented by the Foreign Secretary to the Viceroy, who placed him on a chair on his right, immediately below a full-length portrait of Her Majesty.  A satin banner, richly embroidered with the Chief’s armorial bearings, surmounted by the Imperial crown, was next brought in by Highland soldiers and planted in front of the throne, when the Viceroy, leading the particular Chief towards it, thus addressed him:  ’I present Your Highness with this banner as a personal gift from Her Majesty the Queen, in commemoration of her assumption of the title of Empress of India.  Her Majesty trusts that it may never be unfurled without reminding you not only of the close union between the throne of England and your loyal and princely house, but also of the earnest desire of the paramount power to see your dynasty strong, prosperous, and permanent.’

His Excellency then placed round the Chief’s neck a crimson ribbon, to which was attached a very handsome gold medal[5] with the Queen’s head engraved on it, adding:  ’I further decorate you, by command of Her Majesty.  May this medal be long worn by yourself, and long kept as an heirloom in your family in remembrance of the auspicious date it bears.’

The 1st January, 1877, saw the Queen proclaimed Empress of India, The ceremony was most imposing, and in every way successful.  Three tented pavilions had been constructed on an open plain.  The throne-pavilion in the centre was a very graceful erection, brilliant in hangings and banners of red, blue, and white satin magnificently embroidered in gold, with appropriate emblems.  It was hexagonal in shape, and rather more than 200 feet in circumference.  In front of this was the pavilion for the Ruling Chiefs and high European officials, in the form of a semicircle 800 feet long.  The canopy was of Star of India blue-and-white satin embroidered in gold, each pillar being surmounted by an Imperial crown.  Behind the throne was the stand for the spectators, also in the form of a semicircle divided in the middle, and likewise canopied in brilliant colours.  Between these two blocks was the entrance to the area.

Each Chief and high official sat beneath his own banner, which was planted immediately behind his chair, and they were all mixed up as much as possible to avoid questions of precedence, the result being the most wonderful mass of colour, produced from the intermingling of British uniforms and plumes with gorgeous eastern costumes, set off by a blaze of diamonds and other precious stones.

All the British troops brought to Delhi for the occasion were paraded to the north, and the troops and retainers belonging to the Native Chiefs to the south, of the pavilion.  Guards of Honour were drawn up on either side of the throne and at each opening by which the Ruling Chiefs were to enter the pavilion.