Victoria & Abdul kneeling at a large statue of the Queen close to the Taj Mahal, talking to it and kissing its feet in respect. On 17 June 2016, it was reported that Judi Dench would play Queen Victoria in "Victoria & Abdul", a film based on the book of the same name by Shrabani Basu. Stephen Frears was set to direct. Dench had also portrayed Victoria in the 1997 film "Mrs Brown". On 5 August 2016, it was announced that Ali Fazal would play Victoria's confidant Abdul Karim, while the film would be co-produced by Working Title Films and BBC Films, and
Queen Victoria of the King's disapproval, but her mother dismissed his complaints as motivated by jealousy and forced Victoria to continue the tours. At Ramsgate in October 1835, Victoria contracted a severe fever, which Conroy initially dismissed as a childish pretence. While Victoria was ill, Conroy and the Duchess unsuccessfully badgered her to make Conroy her private secretary. As a teenager, Victoria resisted persistent attempts by her mother and Conroy to appoint him to her staff. Once queen, she banned him from her presence, but he remained in her mother's household. By 1836, the Duchess's brother, Leopold, who had been King of