In 1895 the Emir Abdur Rahman Khan had intended to undertake a state visit to England to pay his respects to the ageing Queen Victoria. However, his health prevented him from making the trip, and so he instead sent his son the Shahzada Nasrullah Khan. Nasrullah departed Bombay on April 29, 1895, with an entourage of over 90 dignitaries, including "five or six" high-ranking Afghan nobles and a group of priests for the observance of religious functions. On May 23 the Shahzada landed at Portsmouth in England.