A black and white photographic print showing Amanullah Khan, King of Afghanistan, visiting the battleship HMS Nelson (1925) at Portsmouth in 1928. Khan stands in a group of around fifteen men also including Prince George, Duke of Kent, and William Bridgeman, First Lord of the Admiralty. The group is standing in front of one of the twin six-inch guns on the vessel's starboard side, next to an electric winch. Khan wears a tasseled hat, similar to a shako, showing wreath-and-mosque motif.

This photograph was taken during Khan’s visit to Europe as part of a wider tour during 1927-28. Khan and his wife, Queen Soraya Tarzi, visited Egypt, Italy, France, Switzerland, Germany, Belgium, Poland, USSR, Turkey and Persia. Khan’s visit to Britain included an inspection of Croydon Airport and railway works in Swindon, a parade at Buckingham Palace and a visit to the grave of the Unknown Warrior in Westminster Abbey. He also visited the Royal Observatory in Greenwich. Britain took a close interest in Afghan affairs, having invaded the country twice during the nineteenth century before suffering defeat in a third war in 1919. Afghanistan lay on the north-west edge of Britain's Indian empire and the British feared foreign influence in the country, especially by Russia.

Khan’s attempt to reform Afghanistan, influenced by this tour, proved highly unpopular. He abdicated on 1 July 1928 and went into exile in British India the following year. Several kings suceeded Khan until Afghanistan's monarchy was abolished following a coup in 1973.