The tall, handsome Abdul Karim (Ali Fazal) was just twenty-four years old when he arrived in England from Agra, India to wait at tables during Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee. An assistant clerk at Agra Central Jail, he suddenly found himself a personal attendant to the Empress of India herself. Within a year, he was established as a powerful figure at court, becoming the Queen's teacher or Munshi, and instructing her in Urdu and Indian affairs. Devastated by the death of John Brown, her Scottish ghillie, the Queen had at last found his replacement. But her intense and controversial relationship with the Munshi led to a near revolt in the royal household.

Victoria & Abdul is a tender love story between an ordinary Indian and his elderly Queen, a relationship that survived the best attempts to destroy it.

Judi Dench reprises her role as Queen Victoria 20 years after her BAFTA-winning performance in Mrs Brown. Based on the book 'Victoria & Abdul: The True Story of the Queen’s Closet Confidant' by Shrabani Basu.