Sophia Duleep Singh and the women who shaped her – discover the story of Punjabi princess and suffragette icon, Sophia Duleep Singh and five women who shaped her extraordinary life, in an exhibition at Kensington Palace for open until 8 November.
Sophia and her sisters Catherine and Bamba, her mother Bamba Muller, grandmother Jind Kaur and godmother Queen Victoria each expressed womanhood, power, and royalty in different ways. They infused their identities and heritage into the causes they devoted themselves to, and became powerful changemakers in their own right.
For the first time, Queen Victoria’s childhood home of Kensington Palace offers an intimate look into six lives shaped by Empire. This new exhibition — created to celebrate Sophia’s 150th birthday — focuses on the women of a royal dynasty whose destinies were profoundly and violently transformed by it.
Sophia became a suffragette, and remained a member of the Sufffragette Fellowship until her death in 1948. Another sister was Catherine, also a suffragette, and was instrumental in aiding many Jewish families escape from Germany during the 1930s
The voice of British South Asian people today is present throughout the exhibition, responding to themes of identity, expression, and resistance.
The Last Princesses of Punjab has been generously supported by Khalsa Jatha British Isles, Gurdwara Aid, Guru Nanak Darbar (Gravesend), Gurdwara Sikh Sangat (London City), RGB Direct.
The Last Princesses of Punjab exhibition is included in the entry ticket to Kensington Palace which can be bought here.
