After the war was ended he declared that the Government ought to tell the people of India “that the relation between them and their real ruler and sovereign, Queen Victoria, shall be drawn nearer.”  This should be done “in the Queen’s name and with the Queen’s authority.”  He appealed to the whole Indian nation by his ‘Royal Titles Bill,’ by means of which the Queen received the title of Empress of India.  This brought home to the minds and imaginations of the native races the real meaning and grandeur of the Empire of which they were now a part.  The great Queen was now their Empress, or, to use the Indian title, ‘Kaiser-i-Hind.’

The Queen took the deepest interest in the Proclamation to the Indian people in 1858, and insisted on a number of alterations before she would allow it to be passed as satisfactory.  She wrote to Lord Derby asking him to remember that “it is a female sovereign who speaks to more than a hundred millions of Eastern people on assuming the direct government over them after a bloody, civil war, giving them pledges which her future reign is to redeem, and explaining the principles of her government.  Such a document should breathe feelings of generosity, benevolence, and religious feeling, pointing out the privileges which the Indians will receive in being placed on an equality with the subjects of the British Crown, and the prosperity following in the train of civilization.”

Direct mention was to be made of the introduction of railways, canals, and telegraphs, with an assurance that such works would be the cause of general welfare to the Indian people.  In conclusion she added:  “Her Majesty wishes expression to be given to her feelings of horror and regret at the results of this bloody civil war, and of pleasure and gratitude to God at its approaching end, and Her Majesty thinks the Proclamation should terminate by an invocation to Providence for its blessing on a great work for a great and good end.”

The amended Proclamation was read in every province in India and met everywhere with cordial approval by princes and natives alike.  The feeling of loyalty was aroused by the Queen’s assurance that “in your prosperity is our strength, in your contentment our security, and in your gratitude our best reward.”

On May 1, 1859, in England, and on July 28, 1859, in India, there was a general thanksgiving for the restoration of peace.

Although the Queen was never able to visit India in person, in 1875 the Prince of Wales went, at her request, to mark her appreciation of the loyalty of the native princes.  The welcome given to the future King of England was truly royal.  Reviews, banquets, illuminations, state dinners followed one another in rapid succession.  Benares, the sacred city of the Hindoos, was visited, and here the Prince witnessed a great procession which included large numbers of elephants and camels, and an illumination of the entire river and city.