[1] They made straight for the palace, apprised the Emperor of their grievances against their British superiors, affirmed their allegiance to him, and sought sanctuary and leadership.

A few days later, after taking stock of the situation, Mirza Mughal and some of his half-brothers petitioned their father to be appointed in charge of the rebel troops.

However, he energetically sought to organize the troops, make arrangements for their billeting and provisioning, and bring a semblance of order to the edgy city.

His inexperience soon became apparent, and he was upstaged a few weeks later by the arrival of a large force of mutineers from Bareilly, led by Bakht Khan, formerly an Indian officer (Subedar) in the service of the East India Company.

As the British took control of the city, Emperor Bahadur Shah II (aged 82) left the Red Fort and took refuge in Humayun’s Tomb, which at that time lay outside Delhi.

Finding the old man extremely frail with exertion, Hodson told the Emperor to rest under a shady tree and accept refreshments.

[3] Meanwhile, the remaining ninety troopers collected the arms of the motley crowd of villagers, jihadis and courtiers, who surrendered their weaponry without dissent at the bidding of their Emperor.

As they approached the gates of the city, Hodson found that a crowd of townsmen had gathered in the expectation of witnessing the return of the Emperor and the princes.

After killing the princes, Hodson personally stripped their bodies of jewellery: their signet rings, turquoise arm-bands and bejewelled swords.