Charles W. Leadbeater was a former Anglican clergyman and a prominent member of the Theosophical Society, which he joined in 1883. In 1889, during his travels to India, he found Currupumullage Jinarajadasa, who he believed to be the reincarnation of his deceased younger brother. Leadbeater brought Jinarajadasa to England where he tutored him before Jinarajadasa gained admission into the University of Cambridge.

In 1910, Leadbeater 'discovered' Jiddu Krishnamurti in Adyar. Leadbeater believed that Krishnamurti was the reincarnation of the World Teacher/Messiah and drew him to the attention of Annie Besant, who took Krishnamurti and his brother under her wing. Before this, in 1906, Leadbeater had been charged with 'perversion' against young boys and had resigned from the Theosophical Society. The charges were never proved and when Annie Besant became President of the Society in 1907, she reinstated Leadbeater. Krishnamurti's father underwent a protracted custody battle against Besant and Leadbeater over the two boys, but eventually the Theosophists were able to assume total guardianship over the boys.

Leadbeater can be described as an observant traveller on the astral plane and wrote many books recounting his experiences. He and Besant collaborated to produce Occult Chemistry in which they used clairvoyance to examine atoms.

Born in 1864, Sunity Devee was the daughter of the Brahmo Samaj reformer Keshub Chunder Sen. The 2nd of 10 children, Sunity was educated at a school for girls in Calcutta. In March 1878, at the age of 13, Sunity Devee was married to the Maharaja of Cooch Behar (an act that created a great deal of controversy especially for her father). The Maharaja immediately went to England after their marriage and returned in February 1879, after which the couple lived together.

In 1887, by which time Sunity Devee had already had 3 children, the family sailed to England for the Jubilee. They were accompanied by Sunity's two brothers, Nirmul and Profulla. Nirmul Sen later worked in the India Office in London for the welfare of Indian students. During this visit, the couple met the Queen on a number of occasions and socialized with other members of the Royal Family. Queen Victoria was Godmother to their fourth child, Victor.

In May 1894, their eldest son, Rajey, went to England at the age of 12 to be educated at Mr Carter's Prepatory School at Farnborough. He then went on to Eton and Oxford. His (three) younger brothers all later followed him to Farnborough and Eton. Their three daughers all went to England as well. The two youngest were educated at Ravens Croft School in Eastbourne. These Princesses, Prativa and Sudhira, married Lionel and Alan Mander in 1912 and 1914 respectively. Prativa and Lionel's marriage ended in an acrimonous divorce, that was reported in The Times, in 1921 and 1922. The Maharaja and Maharani often travelled to England. They were in England in 1911 when Sunity Devee's husband fell ill and died on 18 September 1911. He was cremated at Golders' Green.

Woomes Chunder Bonnerjee was the son of Girish Chunder Bonnerjee, an attorney, and his wife, Saraswati Devi. He was educated at the Oriental Seminary and the Hindu School, Calcutta. Concerned at his negligence, his father removed him from school and in 1861 articled him to a local British solicitor. Bonnerjee won a government scholarship to study Law in England in 1864 and lodged at 108 Denbigh Street, St George's Road, London. He was admitted a student of  Middle Temple on 19 November 1864 and was called to the Bar on 11 June 1867. He was a founder and Secretary of the London Indian Society, and advocated representative and responsible government in India. He then became a member of the East India Association, which superseded the London Indian Society.

Bonnerjee left England in 1868, and on 12 November was enrolled as an advocate at the Calcutta High Court. He became involved with Calcutta University; he was a member of its syndicate, President of its Faculty of Law (1884), and its first representative on the Legislative Council (1894–5). Bonnerjee was one of the founder-members of the Indian National Congress in December 1885. Proposed by Allan Octavian Hume, he was unanimously elected the first President. In the meantime, Bonnerjee travelled between India and Britain: he sent his four-year old son Shelley, and young Nolini and Susie to be educated in Britain in 1874. He and his wife, Hemangini, travelled to and fro, bringing their children to be educated in Britain. In 1888 Hemangini settled permanently in London.

Wealthy from the Bar, Bonnerjee, in about 1890, bought a large house, 8 Bedford Park, Croydon, Surrey, which he named Kidderpore. Bonnerjee lived partly in England and partly in India until 1902, thereafter living mostly at Croydon and practising before the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. He died at his home, Kidderpore, on 21 July 1906. Although Hemangini had converted to Christianity, W. C. Bonnerjee had remained a Hindu, but was given a non-religious burial in England, as according to his wishes. Hemangini returned to India after his death and died in 1910. Their descendents live in India and Britain.