Wajid Ali Shah was the fifth King of Oudh and son of Amjad Ali Shah. Wajid was the tenth and last nawab of the state of Oudh in present day Uttar Pradesh in India. He ascended the throne of Oudh in 1847 and ruled for nine years. His kingdom, long protected by the British under treaty, was eventually annexed peacefully on 7 February 1856. The Nawab was exiled to Garden Reach in Metiabruz, then a suburb of Kolkata, where he lived out the rest of his life off a generous pension. Wajid was a poet, playwright, dancer and great patron of the arts. Although his pen-name was Qaisar, he used the pseudonym "Akhtarpiya" for his numerous compositions. Under this pen name, he wrote over forty works – poems, prose and Thumris. "Diwan-e-Akhtar", "Husn-e-Akhtar" contain his Ghazals.