Product Description

This book collects together 200 superb black and white photographs which tell the story of the Duleep Singhs, the family of the late Maharajah of the Punjab, who was deposed at the age of eleven by the East India Company, and exiled to Britain. The owner of the famous Koh-i-noor diamond, and a Christian convert, Singh became a country squire, indulging in royal hunts with the Prince of Wales and enjoying life as a houseguest of Queen Victoria at Osbourne House, as well as playing the field with a string of young beauties from Norfolk maids to Cockney stage artists. As well as telling the story of Duleep Singh's own life, the book also shows us the lives of his children: Frederick the archaeologist, antiquarian and benefactor to East Anglia; Victor, the gambler and serial bankrupt whose wife was forbidden by Queen Victoria to have any children; Sophia, the fanatical suffragette; Catherine, the secretive and notorious visitor to war-torn Germany whose relations with her governess were more than intimate; and Princess Bamba, the grumpy self-styled Queen of Lahore, who outlived everyone, living in her own imaginary royal court.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #471239 in Books
• Published on: 2004-03-18
• Format: Illustrated
• Original language: English
• Binding: Hardcover
• 160 pages

About the Author
Peter Bance is an independent researcher, specialising in Sikh history. He also operates a family real estate business. He has been researching Kaharajah Duleep Singh since 1995, wrote the entry for Maharani Jindan for the New Dictionary of National Biography and also contributed to the research for the book The Maharajah's Box. He lives in Esswx.

Customer Reviews

The last Maharajah
History books record the British winning the second anglo-sikh war and the Maharajah Duleep Singh living with Queen Victoria in England. Peter Bance's book reveals hundreds of photographs of the last Maharajah and his descendants and their residences and final resting places. The book documents the wealth of sikh history still abundant in the United Kingdom it is amazing value for money.