Insulted and infuriated, Kishwar refused to do anything of the sort, even as the Sepoy Mutiny of 1857 worsened matters. Fixated upon demonstrating their superiority and strength, the British were now unwilling to relinquish even a fragment of their hold on Awadh.

And so, in 1858, a defeated and despairing Kishwar decided to return to India via France. Maybe she could convince the French to intervene? But by this time, the exhausted queen’s health was already in decline and on January 24, a seriously ill Kishwar breathed her last in Paris. Her simple but stately funeral was attended by representatives of the Turkish sultans and a marble cenotaph was constructed over her tomb.