After ascending the throne, Humayoun, who had an innovative mind, introduced a few rituals and ceremonies to make his court more glamorous. This obviously came to a halt when he lost the throne and was forced into exile. His tragic, untimely death soon after his restoration, prevented him from resuming this tradition. Therefore, it was Akbar who consolidated the Mughal Empire and stabilised the institution of kingship.

Abul Fadl (1602) provided the philosophical basis for Mughal kingship by exalting the position and emphasising the importance of royalty. Royalty, according to him, is the highest dignity in the eyes of God and is a light which emanates from Him. Thus Abul Fadl calls royalty 'the divine light'. According to him, this light creates paternal love for his subjects in the heart of the king and increases his trust in God.

Abul Fadl divides kings into two categories true and selfish. Both types of kings possess the same ruling institutions — treasury, army, servants, and subjects — but they distinguish themselves by their attitudes. A true king uses these institutions for the welfare of his subjects. According to Abul Fadl, all actions of the true king are divine, and therefore are to be accepted by the people without question.

The court ceremonies and administrative traditions in India developed from the Ghaznavids, who had taken them from the Samanids. The Samanid rulers not only adopted the pattern of the Abbasid rulers but revived some of the older Sassanid traditions as well. The Mughal rulers of India inherited these court ceremonies and administrative traditions through the Sultans of Delhi and added some Changizi traditions to them. The contemporary Persian influence came through the number of nobles who had migrated from Iran to India. The participation of Rajput princes in the Mughal government led to the adoption of Indian dress and some other customs and practices.

These court ceremonies which included prostration (sijda), kissing of ground (zaminbus), and kissing of feet (pabus) elevated the status of the king. Akbar also liberated kingship from the clutches of ulema when he issued Mahzr, a decree signed by all leading ulema authorising the king to interpret religion. This made the Mughal king all powerful and deprived the ulema of their authority as the custodians of religious affairs. The king was no longer bound to follow sharia. Instead, the ulema now came under his control and he could make them issue fatwas according to his wishes. Even Aurangzeb, who was a religious man, asked them to issue such fatwas which allowed him to fulfil his schemes and plans. Thus, ulema became subservient to the king.

Moreover, Akbar declared himelf the king of all his subjects irrespective of religion, caste, and creed. The result was the development of a composite culture which integrated all his subjects socially and culturally.

The Mughal rulers made efforts to keep in contact with their subjects, for which the institution of Hall of Public Audience was established, where the king was accessible to the public. The tradition of jharoka darshan or appearance on the balcony to give audience to common people brought him closer to his subjects. It made the Mughal kingship appear benevolent. Such was the powerful impact of the divine kingship that even when the Mughal dynasty declined and the emperor lost most of his power, the loyalty and devotion of the people towards the king did not wane. During the brief period when a group of nobles played the role of kingmakers, they did not dare to exclude the dynasty and usurp kingship.

The Marhattas and the East India Company, in spite of their authority, ruled in the name of the Mughal king. His popularity was evident when, in 1857, the rebel soldiers stormed the Red Fort to help him fight against the Company's rule. The charisma of divine kingship came to an end as a result of the Mughal defeat in 1857.