Royal baby footman forced out of Britain and back to India slums just days after starring role
Stunned Badar Azim was forced to leave his job and return to Calcutta after the Home Office refused to renew his visa
Starring role: Badar in his dashing uniform posting the royal notice
It was one of the proudest moments of his life when royal footman Badar Azim was given the job of helping to announce the birth of a new heir to the throne.
The 25-year-old was entrusted with the official proclamation about the arrival of Kate and William’s son – and ordered to place it on a golden easel outside Buckingham Palace.
But last night, just eight days after playing his part in the celebrations surrounding the newborn Prince George of Cambridge, stunned Badar was forced to give up his dream role and fly back to the slums of Calcutta – after the Home Office refused to renew his visa.
He had to vacate his plush Royal Mews staff apartment in the grounds of the palace and return to the cramped two-roomed house his parents, two brothers and five other relatives share in a rundown suburb of the Indian city.
Badar, a hospitality graduate, was told to leave Britain despite desperate pleas to be allowed to renew his work visa, which was granted after he completed his studies in Scotland in 2011.
He left his prestigious job at the end of last week.
Duty: Badar with Buckingham Palace aide
Days earlier, on July 22, he was cheered by thousands well-wishers as he posted the royal birth announcement – and images of him in his dashing red and black uniform were flashed around the world.
A royal source said: “When Badar was given the important job of announcing the royal birth at Buckingham Palace he knew it would be one of the last things he did as a footman for the royal family as his work visa was going to expire.
“He is disappointed and devastated he hasn’t been able to extend his time in the UK.
"Moving over here has changed his life. He had settled in and made lots of friends so he’s heartbroken to have to let it all go.”
Badar’s journey from rags-to-royalty began when he was picked for a sponsorship scheme run by St Mary’s Orphanage in Calcutta.
Success: Graduating from university
His parents, welder Mohammed Rahim, 52, and Mumtaz Begum, 41, could not afford to fund his further education.
So St Mary’s arranged for him to study at the city’s International Institute of Hotel Management College.
The orphanage also raised £10,000 to fund his BA in hospitality management at Edinburgh’s Napier University.
During his studies Badar, described as quiet and polite by his tutors, did not forget his humble roots.
He organised charity walks to raise cash for the same scheme that had helped him.
Speaking in 2010 of how the move had changed his life, he said: “The orphanage literally helps transform the lives of hundreds of children each year.
"If I didn’t go to St Mary’s, I would be working somewhere in the streets of Kolkata.
"It would have been very difficult to get a job in India because unless you have a good degree, you will not get a good job and a good salary.
“The conditions I live in now are so different from how I lived in India.”
My place: Badar outside Buckingham Palace After graduating in 2011, Badar was granted a two-year graduate work visa.
He landed the position of palace footman – worth around £15,000 a year plus bed and board – at Buckingham Palace in February 2012.
Sanjukta Bose, director at the Hotel Management College in Calcutta, said Badar had worked hard to get it.
She added: “It was more than mere luck. He was very good at whatever he did. But that was not all.
He was very kind-hearted too. He was well-mannered and a good communicator. He was also punctual and well-groomed.”
His duties included carrying messages around the palace, serving tea and greeting guests at banquets.
He met many senior royals including the Queen.
But he knew the clock was ticking on his time in the UK, even as he posted the royal birth notice – to the delight of his siblings Mazhar, 20, and Sameer, 14, back home in Calcutta.
Mazhar said: “We were all so proud of him – especially our parents.”
After losing his battle to stay, Badar is now expected to try to use his unique experiences to land a top job at a leading hotel in India.
Buckingham Palace and the Home Office declined to comment.
Worlds apart
Homely: Badar's brother back home in India BUCKINGHAM PALACE
Badar earned £15,000 a year as a new recruit at the Palace. Bed and board was provided free as part of his package.
The Palace has 830,000sq ft of floorspace and the largest private garden in London.
Staff are given flats above the Royal Mews stables at the southern end of the grounds.
CALCUTTA
Badar will live with his parents two brothers and five other relatives in a two-room house.
His dad works as a welder and earns just £33 a month. In the city’s crowded slum areas, the average wage of a manual worker is just 27rupees (30p) a day.
More than 1.5million people live in Calcutta’s slums.
