A photo (here, here, and here) is being widely shared on social media with the claim that it is the real photo of Tipu Sultan available in the London Museum. Through this article, let’s find out the details of this photo.

Claim: Photo of Tipu Sultan that is present in the London Museum.
Fact: The person in the viral photo is Seyyid Hamed bin Thuwaini, the Sultan of Zanzibar, who ruled Zanzibar from 1893 to 1896. Tipu Sultan, was the ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore, India, and he died in 1799. The world’s first photograph was taken in 1826 by the French scientist Joseph Nicephore Niepce, long after Tipu Sultan had passed away. Hence the claim made in the post is FALSE.
To gather details about this viral photo, we conducted a Google reverse image search which led us to the same photo (archived link) uploaded on the stock photo website Getty Images. According to the description of the photo, the person is Sultan Seyyid Hamed bin Thuwaini of Zanzibar (who reigned from 1893 to 1896), Tanzania.

Following this lead, we conducted a relevant keyword search and found the same photo on the Wikidata (archived link) website as well as the website of the Oman and Zanzibar Virtual Museum (archived link). These websites also confirmed that the man featured in the picture is Sultan Seyyid Hamed bin Thuwaini al-Busaidi. Based on all this information, it is clear that the viral picture shows Sultan Seyyid Hamed bin Thuwaini of Zanzibar.

More photos of Sultan Seyyid Hamed bin Thuwaini al-Busaidi can be seen here. Seyyid Hamed bin Thuwaini al-Busaidi, the fifth Sultan of Zanzibar, was born in 1857 and died on 25 August 1896. He ruled Zanzibar from 5 March 1893 until his death on 25 August 1896 (here & here).
Tipu Sultan (1751–1799) was the ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore from 1782 until he died in 1799. He led the Second Anglo-Mysore War after his father, Hyder Ali, died in battle due to illness. Tipu Sultan himself died in 1799 during the Fourth Anglo-Mysore War (here, here). In fact, the world’s first photograph was taken in 1826 by the French scientist Joseph Nicephore, by which time Tipu Sultan had already passed away.

Factly previously published a fact-check debunking multiple photos that went viral, falsely claiming to show Tipu Sultan, the ruler of the Kingdom of Mysore.
To sum it up, a photo of Seyyid Hamed bin Thuwaini, the Sultan of Zanzibar, Tanzania, is being falsely shared as that of Tipu Sultan.