Sophia Duleep Singh

Sophia Duleep Singh was born on 8 August 1876 in Belgravia and lived in Elveden Hall, Suffolk. She was the third daughter of Maharaja Duleep Singh (the last Maharaja of the Sikh Empire) and his first wife, Bamba Müller. The Maharaja and Bamba had ten children, of whom six survived. Singh combined Indian, European, and African ancestry with a British aristocratic upbringing, which her string of names reflected. She was named Sophia for her maternal grandmother, the formerly enslaved woman from Ethiopia; and Alexandrovna in tribute to her godmother, Queen Victoria ("Alexandrina Victoria"). Some sources also report an additional forename, Jindan, after her paternal grandmother, Maharani Jind Kaur. Because of the family's complex history, the India Office kept them under surveillance in case they became involved in any political activity around India. He was exiled from India by the East India Company at age15 and moved to England, where Queen Victoria treated him with maternal fondness. She and Prince Albert were impressed by his handsomeness and regal bearing. They formed a close bond with him over the years. The queen was godmother to several of his children, and his family's upkeep was provided for by the East India Company. Duleep Singh converted to Christianity at a young age, some time prior to his removal from India. In later life, he reconverted to Sikhism ==Later life and activism==

After Singh returned from India in 1909, she joined the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU) at the behest of Una Dugdale, a friend of the Pankhurst sisters; Emmeline Pankhurst had co-founded the Women's Franchise League in 1889. She also contributed towards fundraising efforts, such as self-denial weeks, where supporters would deprive themselves of luxuries and give the money saved to their chosen organisation. She refused to pay taxes, frustrating the government. King George V asked in exasperation, "Have we no hold on her?" According to a letter from Lord Crewe, George V was within his rights to have her evicted. Her name is also one of those listed in the 1911 Census boycotters Singh authorised an auction of her belongings, with proceeds benefiting the Women's Tax Resistance League. She solicited subscriptions to the cause, and was photographed selling The Suffragette newspaper outside her home and from press carts. On 22May 1911 Singh was fined £3 by the Spelthorne Petty Sessions Court for illegally keeping a coach, a helper, and five dogs and for using a roll of arms. She protested that she should not have to pay the licence fees without the right to vote. On 13December 1913 she and other WTRL members appeared in court and Singh was again accused of keeping dogs without a licence. Singh tried to fall in front of Prime Minister H. H. Asquith's car while holding a poster reading, "Give women the vote!" She supported the manufacture of bombs, encouraging anarchy in Britain. She tended wounded Indian soldiers who had been evacuated from the Western Front. Sikh soldiers could hardly believe "that the granddaughter of Ranjit Singh sat by their bedsides in a nurse's uniform". After the 1918 enactment of the Representation of the People Act, allowing women over age30 to vote, Singh joined the Suffragette Fellowship and remained a member until her death. Her arrangement of a flag day that year for Indian troops generated significant interest in England and New Delhi. In September 1919 Singh hosted the Indian soldiers of the peace contingent at Faraday House. Five years later, she made her second visit to India with Bamba and Colonel Sutherland. Singh visited Kashmir, Lahore, Amritsar, and Murree, where they were mobbed by crowds who came to see their former maharaja's daughters, and this visit boosted the cause of female suffrage in India. The badge she wore promoted women's suffrage in Britain and abroad. ==Achievements==

In 1928 royal assent was given to the Equal Franchise Act enabling women over age21 to vote on a par with men. In 1930, Sophia was president of the Committee tasked with providing flower decorations at the unveiling of the Emmeline and Christabel Pankhurst Memorial in Victoria Tower Gardens. Despite some reports, Sophia was not the president of the Suffragette Fellowship, which was established in 1930, after the death of Emmeline Pankhurst. In the 1934 edition of ''Who's Who'', Singh described her life's purpose as "the advancement of women". She espoused causes of equality and justice far removed from her royal background, and played a significant role at a crucial point in the history of England and India. ==Death==

Singh died in her sleep on 22 August 1948 in Rathenrae (now Folly Meadow), in Penn, Buckinghamshire, a residence once owned by her sister Catherine, and was cremated on 26August 1948 at Golders Green Crematorium. where they were scattered in the Punjab. Queen Victoria had given Singh an elaborately dressed doll named Little Sophie, which became her proud possession, and, near the end of her life, she gave the doll to Drovna, her housekeeper's daughter. ==Posthumous recognition==

Singh eventually received a place of honour in the suffragette movement alongside Emmeline Pankhurst. She inspired a next generation of activists within the United Kingdom such as Surat Alley. She was featured in the Royal Mail's commemorative stamp set "Votes for Women", issued on 15 February 2018. She appeared on the £1.57 stamp, selling The Suffragette. Her name and picture (and those of 58 other women's suffrage supporters) are on the plinth of the statue of Millicent Fawcett in Parliament Square, London, unveiled in April 2018. She was featured in the documentaries Sophia: Suffragette Princess (2015) and No Man Shall Protect Us: The Hidden History of the Suffragette Bodyguards (2018), portrayed in the latter production by actress Aila Peck. In 2022, Historic Royal Palaces commissioned Scary Little Girls theatre company to develop a play on Sophia Duleep Singh to tour London schools. The play, ''Fire: A Princess' Guide to Burning Issues'', subsequently toured schools in West Yorkshire in July 2023 and Birmingham in November 2023. In January 2023, English Heritage announced that a blue plaque would be unveiled later that year on a house in Richmond, near Hampton Court Palace which Queen Victoria granted to Singh and her sisters in 1896. The plaque was unveiled at a ceremony on 26 May 2023. In 2023 it was announced that English actress Paige Sandhu would portray Singh in a biographical film titled Lioness. An exhibition The Last Princesses of Punjab will run at Kensington Palace from 26 March - 8 November 2026, showcasing objects illustrating Singh's life alongside her sisters, mother, grandmother and godmother. ==See also==