The BBC’s Anita Anand tells the fascinating and largely unknown story of Princess Sophia Duleep Singh, the daughter of Maharaja Duleep Singh (the last Maharaja of the Sikh Empire), goddaughter of Queen Victoria and a pioneering Suffragette. Bold and fearless, she marched alongside Emmeline Pankhurst in protest outside parliament, refused to pay her taxes until women got the vote, and even threw herself in front of Prime Minister Asquith’s car, all while residing in a grace and favour house at Hampton Court Palace.
1910 is not that long ago, yet these events read as if they happened 400 years ago. It seems incredible that women were browbeaten and thrown in jail for the mere fact that they were not considered equal to men. Princess Sophia was an amazing woman, especially because of her Hindi background. For her to rebel the way she did was nothing short of incredible! Thank you for bringing the story of this remarkable woman to our attention!