(left) and Nasir Ali (right). Sayyid Hassan Ali Mirza was known as
Burra Sahib in his childhood and he showed signs of extraordinary intelligence. He was born on 25 August 1846 as the eldest son of
Mansur Ali Khan, the last
Nawab of Bengal. His mother, Mehr Lekha Begum, was the second wife of his father, and was of
Habshi descent. He received his early lessons in English,
Persian and
Arabic. He was educated at
La Martiniere College in
Lucknow. In 1865, he was sent to
England to complete his education, where he was accompanied by his younger half brothers, Husain Ali Mirza Bahadur (
Mujli Sahib) and Muhammad Ali Mirza Bahadur (
Amir Sahib), in company with Colonel Herbert. The young prince was provided with all kinds of amusements. They were kept in a hotel in
South Kensington. They also attende the then
Prince of Wales,
Edward VII's
Levée, to which the right of private entry was granted to them. Hassan Ali met
Robert Clive's granddaughter, Lady Williams and he received attention from all sides. He was also introduced to
Her Majesty Queen Victoria by the state's secretary. They visited many places like
Sandgate,
Dover Castle,
Southsea,
Chester,
Manchester and so on. While leaving
London in December 1856 they traveled back to
Calcutta through
France,
Italy and
Malta, visiting the many famous and reputed cities like
Paris,
Bologna,
Florence,
Rome,
Naples and so on. Hassan Ali's second foreign visit, rather English visit, was with his father, Mansur Ali Khan in March 1869. ==Later years==