Princess Sophia Duleep Singh’s London home honoured with commemorative Blue Plaque
2 min read 26 May 2023, 09:20 PM ISTThe Blue Plaque scheme, run by the English Heritage charity, honours the significance of particular buildings associated with historical figures.
PremiumSikh Empire's last ruler's daughter Princess Sophia Duleep Singh, daughter of Maharaja Duleep Singh' house in London, United Kingdom was honoured with a commemorative Blue Plaque on Friday.
Princess Sophia Duleep Singh is also the goddaughter of Queen Victoria.
The Blue Plaque scheme, run by the English Heritage charity, honours the significance of particular buildings associated with historical figures.
In memory of the British-Indian Princess, it now adorns Faraday House, which was granted to Sophia and her sisters as a grace and favour apartment at Hampton Court Palace southwest of London by Queen Victoria.
Named after another former resident, the eminent English physicist Michael Faraday (1791–1867), Faraday House was Princess Sophia’s main residence for over four decades.
Furnished to her luxurious taste, the house – or “Apartment 41" to give it its grace-and-favour title – was Princess Sophia’s base during the many years she campaigned as a suffragette for women’s voting rights.
Uniquely spanning the very different worlds of the British court and the movement for women’s suffrage in the early 20th century, Sophia Duleep Singh made full use of her royal title and public persona.
“I remember my godmother Princess Sophia telling me about the suffragettes and how women weren’t always allowed to vote as we walked through the gardens at Hampton Court together. And then, as a child, I made a solemn vow to her that I would always exercise my right to vote, and I always have," said Drovna Oxley, goddaughter to Princess Sophia.
The princess, who died aged 71 in August 1948, dared the authorities to punish her as she shrewdly chose which political protests to attend, ones they could not ignore.
Her residence at Faraday House was not without controversy as reflected in a much-publicised photograph of her selling ‘The Suffragette’ paper outside Hampton Court Palace, which led to her eviction from the property being discussed in court and government circles.
The idea was eventually dismissed as it would have dragged the Crown into the parliamentary suffrage debates of the time. Faraday House was also raided by bailiffs seeking redress for her non-payment of taxes after she joined the Women’s Tax Resistance League (WTRL) in 1911.
Duleep Singh was the last Maharaja of Punjab as the son and heir of Maharaja Ranjit Singh who was exiled to England as a teenager in 1854. He shared a close bond with Queen Victoria until he grew critical of the British Empire in later life.
It was on his request that the Queen agreed to be the godmother of his daughter Sophia and went on to grant use of Faraday House to the family for the rest of their lives even as her relationship with their father soured.
During her life, Sophia maintained a strong connection with India and her ashes were taken to India by her sister Bamba in 1949.
