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{{Short description|British suffragist (1876–1948)}}
{{Good article}}
{{Use British English|date=July 2015}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2025}}
{{Infobox royalty
|name = Sophia Duleep Singh
|image = File:1910-Sophia-Suffragette-Duleep-Singh-fixed.jpg
|image_size =
|caption = Sophia Duleep Singh selling ''The Suffragette'' in 1913
|birth_name = Sophia Alexandrovna Duleep Singh
|birth_date = 8 August 1876
|birth_place = [[Elveden Hall]], [[Elveden]], Suffolk, England
|death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|1948|8|22|1876|8|8}}
|death_place = [[Tylers Green]], Buckinghamshire, England
|religion = [[Sikhism]]
|occupation = Prominent [[suffragette]] in the United Kingdom
|father = [[Duleep Singh]]
|mother = [[Bamba Müller]]
}}
'''Princess Sophia Alexandrovna Duleep Singh''' ({{IPAc-en|s|ə|ˈ|f|aɪ|.|ə}} {{respell|sə|FY|ə}};<ref>{{harvnb|Anand|2015|p=46}}, "It was [...] pronounced with stretched vowels according to the fashion of the day – {{'}}''So-fire''.{{'}}</ref> 8 August 1876 – 22 August 1948) was a British [[suffragette]]. Her father was [[Maharaja]] [[Maharaja Dalip Singh|Sir Duleep Singh]], who had lost his [[Sikh Empire]] to the [[Punjab Province (British India)|Punjab Province of British India]] and was subsequently exiled to England. Sophia's mother was [[Bamba Müller]], who was half German and half Ethiopian, and her godmother was [[Queen Victoria]]. She had four sisters, including two half-sisters, and three brothers. She lived in Faraday House in [[Hampton Court]], given to her by Queen Victoria as a [[grace and favour|grace-and-favour home]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Princess Sophia Duleep Singh - Suffragette - Blue Plaques |url=https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/blue-plaques/sophia-duleep-singh/ |publisher=English Heritage |access-date=12 March 2026}}</ref>

During the early twentieth century, Singh was one of several Indian women who pioneered the cause of women's rights in Britain. Although she is best remembered for her leading role in the [[Women's Tax Resistance League]], she also participated in other [[Women's suffrage in the United Kingdom|women's suffrage]] groups, including the [[Women's Social and Political Union]].

==Early life==
Sophia Duleep Singh was born on 8 August 1876 in [[Belgravia]]{{sfn|Anand|2015|p=4}} and lived in [[Elveden Hall]], [[Suffolk]].<ref name=Writer>{{Cite web|url=http://asiahouse.org/uk-general-election-drama-unfolds-writer-recalls-indian-princess-turned-suffragette/|title=As UK General Election drama unfolds, writer recalls Indian princess-turned suffragette|access-date=1 July 2016|publisher=Asia House Organization|archive-date=23 August 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160823014004/http://asiahouse.org/uk-general-election-drama-unfolds-writer-recalls-indian-princess-turned-suffragette/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Sophia Duleep Singh |url=https://beta.nationalarchives.gov.uk/explore-the-collection/stories/sophia-duleep-singh/?utm_source=e-shot&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Shop+promo+08.03.25 |access-date=11 March 2025 |website=The National Archives |language=en-GB}}</ref> She was the third daughter of [[Maharaja Duleep Singh]] (the last Maharaja of the [[Sikh Empire]]) and his first wife, [[Bamba Müller]].<ref name=Sarna/> Bamba was the daughter of Ludwig Müller, a German [[merchant banker]] of Todd Müller and Company, and Sofia, his [[Mistress (lover)|mistress]], who was of [[Ethiopian Empire|Abyssinian]] (Ethiopian) descent.<ref name=duleep>{{cite web|url=http://www.duleepsingh.com/Biography.aspx?evid=24 |title=Maharani Bamba Duleep Singh |publisher=DuleepSingh.com |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130919041018/http://www.duleepsingh.com/Biography.aspx?evid=24 |archive-date=19 September 2013 }}</ref> The Maharaja and Bamba had ten children, of whom six survived.<ref name=duleep/><ref name=Tonkin>{{cite news|last=Tonkin|first=Boyd| url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/sophia-princess-suffragette-revolutionary-by-anita-anand-book-review-9965418.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220524/https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/books/reviews/sophia-princess-suffragette-revolutionary-by-anita-anand-book-review-9965418.html |archive-date=24 May 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live|title=Sophia: Princess, Suffragette, Revolutionary by Anita Anand, book review|date=8 January 2015|work=The Independent|quote=...the platonic love-affair that yoked Victoria to the dispossessed Maharajah Duleep Singh, "so handsome and charming"...}}</ref><ref name=Kellogg >{{cite web|last=Kellogg |first=Carolyn |url=http://www.latimes.com/books/jacketcopy/la-ca-jc-anita-anand-20150111-story.html|title='Sophia' a fascinating story of a princess turned revolutionary|date=8 January 2015|work=Los Angeles Times}}</ref> Singh combined Indian, European, and African ancestry with a British aristocratic upbringing, which her string of names reflected.<ref>{{cite magazine |last1=Parker |first1=Peter |title=Sophia Duleep Singh: from socialite to socialist |url=https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/sophia-duleep-singh-from-socialite-to-socialist |access-date=28 February 2022 |magazine=The Spectator |date=24 January 2015 |language=en}}</ref> 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, [[Jind Kaur|Maharani Jind Kaur]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Sophia Duleep Singh: The Indian Princess Who Fought for Women's Rights |url=https://www.hrp.org.uk/hampton-court-palace/history-and-stories/sophia-duleep-singh/#gs.rk64n4 |website=Historic Royal Palaces |quote=Sophia's names show a truly international and remarkable family history: Sophia, after her enslaved Ethiopian maternal grandmother; Jindan, after her paternal grandmother, Maharani Jind Kaur; and Alexandrovna, after her godmother Queen (Alexandrina) Victoria.}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last1=Dhillon |first1=Ruby |title=Remembering Sophia Duleep Singh: The Princess turned women's rights activist |url=https://www.indianweekender.co.nz/Pages/ArticleDetails/70/16574/Women/Remembering-Sophia-Duleep-Singh-The-Princess-turned-womens-rights-activist |access-date=28 February 2022 |work=Indian Weekender |date=22 August 2021 |language=en-NZ}}</ref> 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.<ref name=":0" />

In the aftermath of the [[Second Anglo-Sikh War]], her father had been forced, at age{{nbsp}}11, to abdicate his kingdom to the [[East India Company]] and give the [[Kohinoor diamond|Koh-i-Noor diamond]] to [[Lord Dalhousie]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Mukherjee |first=Sumita |title=Indian Suffragettes: Female Identities and Transnational Networks |publisher=Oxford University Press |date=2018 |isbn=9780199484218 |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=_2cGtAEACAAJ&q=Indian+Suffragettes:+Female+Identities+and+Transnational+Networks}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Freeman |first1=Henry |title=East India Company, Beginning to End}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Wild |first1=Antony |title=East India Company: trade and Conquest}}</ref> He was exiled from India by the East India Company at age{{nbsp}}15 and moved to England, where Queen Victoria treated him with maternal fondness. She and [[Albert, Prince Consort|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.<ref>{{cite news |last1=BBC Staff |title=Royal tribute to first Sikh settler |url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/407061.stm |access-date=9 October 2021 |publisher=BBC News |date=29 July 1999}}</ref><ref name="History">{{cite web|url=http://historysheroes.e2bn.org/hero/timeline/3521|title=Princess Sophia Duleep Singh – Timeline|publisher=History Heroes organization}}</ref><ref name=Sarna>{{cite web|last=Sarna|first=Navtej|url=https://www.indiatoday.in/magazine/leisure/story/20150202-sophia-princess-suffragette-revolutionary-anita-anand-review-navtej-sarna-anita-anand-817330-2015-01-22|title= The princess dares: Review of Anita Anand's book "Sophia"|date=23 January 2015|work=India Today News Magazine}}</ref><ref name=Kellogg/><ref name=Tonkin/><ref name=Anand>{{cite web|last= Anand|first= Anita |url=http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/home/sunday-times/Sophia-the-suffragette/articleshow/45839386.cms|title=Sophia, the suffragette|work=[[The Hindu]]|date=14 January 2015|ref=none}}</ref> Duleep Singh converted to [[Christianity]] at a young age, some time prior to his removal from India.<ref name="box 2000">{{cite book |last1=Campbell |first1=Christopher |title=The Maharajah's box: An imperial story of conspiracy, love and a guru's prophecy |date=2000 |publisher=HarperCollins Publishers |location=Hammersmith, London |isbn=978-0-00-653078-7 |pages=44, 100–102}}</ref> In later life, he reconverted to [[Sikhism]]<ref name=duleep/> and espoused the independence movement in India as he became more aware of the way in which the politics of the British Empire had resulted in the loss of his own kingdom.<ref name=Sarna/>

Singh's brothers included [[Victor Duleep Singh]] and [[Frederick Duleep Singh]]; her two full sisters were [[Catherine Duleep Singh]], a suffragette, and [[Bamba Sutherland|Bamba Duleep Singh]].<ref name="duleep" />

Singh developed [[typhoid]] at age 10. Her mother, who was attending her, contracted the disease, fell into a coma, and died on 17{{nbsp}}September 1887. On 31{{nbsp}}May 1889 her father married Ada Wetherill, a chambermaid,<ref name="Tonkin" /> with whom he had two daughters.<ref name="History" /><ref name="duleep" /> In 1886, when Sophia was ten, her father attempted to return to India with his family against the wishes of the British government; they were turned back in [[Aden]] by arrest warrants.<ref name="Sarna" /><ref name="Anand" />

Queen Victoria was fond of Duleep Singh and his family, particularly Sophia, who was her [[Godparent|goddaughter]], and encouraged her and her sisters to become socialites.<ref name=Tonkin/> Sophia, with her fashionable address, wore Parisian dresses, bred championship dogs, pursued photography and cycling, and attended parties.<ref name=Sarna/><ref name=Kellogg/>

After a period of ill health, her father died in a rundown Paris hotel<ref name=Anand/> on 22{{nbsp}}October 1893 at age 55.<ref name=History/> She inherited substantial wealth from her father at his death in 1893, but she and her siblings were put under the guardianship of Arthur Craigie Oliphant until they reached their majorities. Age 17, Singh was sent to a school in Brighton.<ref name=":0" />

In 1898 Queen Victoria, her godmother, granted Sophia and her sisters Bamba and Catherine a [[grace and favour]] apartment in Faraday House, [[Hampton Court Palace|Hampton Court]] with a £200 a year allowance for expenses.<ref name="History" /><ref name=":0" /> Singh did not initially live in Faraday House; she stayed at the Manor House in [[Old Buckenham]], near her brother Prince Frederick.<ref name="History" />

The British government lessened their vigilant watch on the shy, silent, grief-stricken Singh, which proved a misjudgement. She made a secret trip to India with her sister, Bamba, to attend the 1903 [[Delhi Durbar]], where she was ignored. This impressed on Singh the futility of public and media popularity, and she returned to England determined to change her course.<ref name="Anand" /> During a 1907 trip to India, she visited [[Amritsar]] and [[Lahore]] and met relatives.<ref name="History" /> This visit was a turning point in her life, as she faced the realities of [[poverty in India]] and what her family had lost by choosing to surrender.<ref name="Kellogg" /> In India, Singh hosted a "[[purdah]] party" in [[Shalimar, Lahore|Shalimar Bagh]] in Lahore ([[Ranjit Singh|her grandfather's]] capital). During the visit, all the while shadowed by British agents, she encountered Indian independence activists such as [[Gopal Krishna Gokhale]] and [[Lala Lajpat Rai]] and expressed sympathy for their cause.<ref name="Sarna" /><ref name="Kellogg" /> Singh admired Rai, and his imprisonment by the authorities on "charges of sedition" turned Sophia against the [[British Raj]].<ref name="Sarna" />

In 1909 her brother bought Blo' Norton Hall in [[South Norfolk]] for himself and a house in [[Blo' Norton]], Thatched Cottage, for his sisters.<ref name=History/> That year, Sophia attended a farewell party at the [[Westminster Palace Hotel]] for [[Mahatma Gandhi]].<ref name=History/>

Bamba Duleep Singh, Sophia's oldest sister, married Dr{{nbsp}} Lt Colonel David Waters Sutherland, principal of King Edward's Medical College in [[Lahore]]. They had no children.<ref name="spectrum">{{cite news|url=http://www.tribuneindia.com/2009/20090920/spectrum/main3.htm|title=The Princess who died unknown|last=Kang|first=Kanwarjit Singh|date=20 September 2009|work=The Sunday Tribune|accessdate=13 March 2010}}</ref>

==Later life and activism==
[[File:Photograph of three daughters (Sophia, Bamba, and Catherine) of Maharaja Duleep Singh and Bamba Müller in May 1895 (Peter Bance Collection) (cropped).jpg|thumb|396x396px|Sophia Duleep Singh (on the right), with her sisters Bamba and Catherine]]
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.<ref name=History/> In 1909 Singh was a leading member of the movement for women's voting rights, funding suffragette groups and leading the cause. An example of her support to the [[Women's Social and Political Union]] was her loan of a [[Trap (carriage)|trap]] for the work of the Kingston and District branch.<ref>{{Cite news |date=20 September 1912 |title=Kingston and District |pages=13 |work=Votes for Women}}</ref> 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.<ref>{{Cite news |date=7 March 1913 |title=Kingston and District |pages=336 |work=The Suffragette}}</ref> She refused to pay taxes,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Why did women receive the vote? - The fight for female suffrage - KS3 History - homework help for year 7, 8 and 9. |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/articles/zsjg3j6#zjkg3j6 |access-date=29 January 2025 |website=BBC Bitesize |language=en-GB}}</ref> frustrating the government. King [[George V]] asked in exasperation, "Have we no hold on her?"<ref name=Anand/>

Although as a British subject Singh's primary interest was women's rights in England, she and her fellow suffragettes also promoted similar activities in the colonies. She valued her Indian heritage, but was not bound by allegiance to a single nation and supported the women's cause in a number of countries. Her title, Princess, was useful.{{Sfn|Ahmed|Mukherjee|2011|p=173}} Singh sold a suffragette newspaper outside Hampton Court Palace, where Queen Victoria had allowed her family to live.<ref name=DYKhook>[http://www.bl.uk/learning/timeline/item124196.html Suffragette Sophia Duleep Singh] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190318014243/http://www.bl.uk/learning/timeline/item124196.html |date=18 March 2019 }}, 1910, British Library, retrieved 13 February 2015</ref> According to a letter from [[Robert Crewe-Milnes, 1st Marquess of Crewe|Lord Crewe]], George V was within his rights to have her evicted.<ref name=DYKhook/>

Singh, Emmeline Pankhurst and a group of activists went to the [[House of Commons of the United Kingdom|House of Commons]] on 18 November 1910, hoping for a meeting with the Prime Minister.<ref name=DYKhook/> The Home Secretary, [[Winston Churchill]], ordered their expulsion. Churchill's refusal to meet with the group, paired with the government's lack of response on the Conciliation Bill, resulted in a protest of around 300 women. Many of the women were seriously injured during this demonstration, with reports of police brutality. The incident became known as Black Friday.<ref name=History/>

At first, Singh kept a low profile; in 1911 she was reluctant to make speeches in public or at [[Women's Social and Political Union]] meetings. She refused to chair meetings, telling her WSPU colleagues she was "quite useless for that sort of thing" and would only say "five words if nobody else would support the forthcoming resolution". However, Singh later chaired and addressed a number of meetings.{{Sfn|Ahmed|Mukherjee|2011|p=171}} [[Mithan Jamshed Lam|Mithan Tata]] and her mother [[Herabai Tata|Herabai]] met Singh in India, in 1911, and noted that Singh wore a small yellow-and-green badge with her motto: "Votes for women".{{Sfn|Ahmed|Mukherjee|2011|p=175}}

The [[The National Archives (United Kingdom)|National Archives]] documents Singh's refusal to take part in the [[1911 United Kingdom census|1911 census]]-being one of those boycotting it, The site describes Singh's tactics as "bold" and "innovative", reproduces her actual census form and her response "scrawled" on it "‘No vote, no census, as women do not count, they refuse to be counted.’"<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/ukgwa/20250613153110/https://blog.nationalarchives.gov.uk/no-vote-no-census-the-1911-suffrage-census-protests/|title=‘No vote, no census’: The 1911 suffrage census protests|date=2 April 2020|access-date=28 November 2025|website=The Nationak Archives|last=Iglikowski-Broad|first=Vicky|url-status=live}}</ref>

Her name is also one of those listed in the [[1911 United Kingdom census boycotters|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)|The Suffragette]]'' newspaper outside her home and from press carts.{{Sfn|Ahmed|Mukherjee|2011|p=175}} On 22{{nbsp}}May 1911 Singh was fined £3 by the [[Borough of Spelthorne|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.<ref name="History" /> That July a bailiff went to Singh's house to collect an unpaid fine of 14 [[shilling]]s, which she refused to pay. Her diamond ring was then confiscated by the police and auctioned a few days later; a friend bought it and returned it to her.<ref name="History" /> In December 1913, Singh was fined £12/10s for refusing to pay licence fees for two dogs, a carriage and a servant.<ref name="NB1913">{{cite news |url=https://newspaperarchive.com/us/new-jersey/new-brunswick/new-brunswick-daily-times/1913/12-31/page-5?tag=sophia+singh&rtserp=tags/?ndt=by&py=1870&pey=1949&pf=sophia&pl=singh |via=[[Newspaperarchive.com]] |title=Princess Ignores Fine, Becomes ,'Suff' |newspaper= New Brunswick Daily Times |location=[[New Brunswick, New Jersey]] |date=31 December 1913 |page=5}} {{free access}}</ref>{{Sfn|Ahmed|Mukherjee|2011|p=171}} On 13{{nbsp}}December 1913 she and other WTRL members appeared in court and Singh was again accused of keeping dogs without a [[Dog licence|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.<ref name="History" />{{Sfn|Ahmed|Mukherjee|2011|p=175}} Despite Singh's activism as a suffragette, she was never arrested; although her activities were watched by the administration, they may not have wanted to make a martyr of her.<ref name="Tonkin" />
[[File:Sophia Duleep Singh 1919.jpg|thumb|Singh as a nurse c. 1916]]
During [[World War I]], Singh initially supported the Indian soldiers and [[Lascar]]s working in the British fleets<ref name=Anand/> and joined a 10,000-woman protest march against the prohibition of a volunteer female force. She volunteered as a [[British Red Cross]] [[Voluntary Aid Detachment]] nurse, serving at an auxiliary military hospital in [[Isleworth]] from October 1915 to January 1917.<ref name="VAD">{{cite web |title=Princess Sophia Duleep Singh |url=https://vad.redcross.org.uk/Card?fname=sophia&sname=singh&id=190300&first=true |website=Vad.redcross.org.uk |publisher=Red Cross |access-date=22 February 2019}}</ref> She tended wounded Indian soldiers who had been evacuated from the [[Western Front (World War I)|Western Front]]. Sikh soldiers could hardly believe "that the granddaughter of Ranjit Singh sat by their bedsides in a nurse's uniform".<ref name=Tonkin/><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.comicrelief.com/news/women-wednesdays-heres-why-sophia-duleep-singh-our-inspirational-figure-week/|title = Women Wednesdays: Here's why Sophia Duleep Singh is our inspirational figure of the week | Comic Relief}}</ref>

After the 1918 enactment of the [[Representation of the People Act, 1918|Representation of the People Act]], allowing women over age{{nbsp}}30 to vote, Singh joined [[the Suffragette Fellowship]] and remained a member until her death.<ref name=History/> Her arrangement of a [[flag day]] that year for Indian troops generated significant interest in England and [[New Delhi]].<ref name=Tonkin/> In September 1919 Singh hosted the Indian soldiers of the peace contingent at Faraday House.{{Sfn|Ahmed|Mukherjee|2011|p=173}} 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,<ref name=History/> and this visit boosted the cause of female suffrage in India. The badge she wore promoted women's suffrage in Britain and abroad.{{Sfn|Ahmed|Mukherjee|2011|p=175}}

==Achievements==
In 1928 royal assent was given to the [[Representation of the People (Equal Franchise) Act 1928|Equal Franchise Act]] enabling women over age{{nbsp}}21 to vote on a par with men.<ref name=History/> 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".<ref name=History/><ref name=Anand/> 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.{{Sfn|Ahmed|Mukherjee|2011|p=173}}

==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 26{{nbsp}}August 1948 at [[Golders Green Crematorium]].<ref name=History/> Before her death she had expressed the wish that she be cremated according to [[Sikh rites]] and her ashes spread in India,<ref name= Cohen>{{Cite web|last= Cohen |first= Deborah |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/book-review-sophia-by-anita-anand-1423258287|title= Royal and Revolutionary|date= 6 February 2015|access-date=1 July 2016|work=The Wall Street Journal}}</ref>{{better source needed|date=February 2019}} where they were scattered in the Punjab.<ref name=History/> Her will was proven in London on 8 November 1948, with her estate amounting to £58,040 0s. 11d. (roughly equivalent to £{{formatnum:{{Inflation|UK|58040|1948|r=0}}}} in {{Inflation-year|UK}}{{Inflation-fn|UK|df=y}}).<ref name="probate">{{cite web |url=https://probatesearch.service.gov.uk/ |title=Singh, Her Highness Princess Sophia Alexandrovna Duleep |author= |date=1948 |website=Probate Search Service |publisher=UK Government |access-date=9 May 2024 }}</ref>

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.<ref name=Tonkin/>

==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]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Chatterjee |first=Arup K. |title=Indians in London: from the birth of the East India Company to independent India |date=2021 |publisher=Bloomsbury |isbn=978-93-89449-19-8 |edition=Export |location=New Delhi London Oxford New York Sydney}}</ref>

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''.<ref name="royalmail">{{cite web|title=Votes for Women stamp set|url=http://shop.royalmail.com/votes-for-women/votes-for-women-stamp-set/invt/20178542|publisher=Royal Mail Shop|access-date=5 February 2018}}</ref><ref name="collect">{{cite web|title=Votes for Women|url=http://www.collectgbstamps.co.uk/explore/issues/?issue=22781|publisher=Collect GB Stamps|access-date=5 February 2018}}</ref><ref name="bains">{{cite news|last1=Bains|first1=Nikki Kaur|title=Suffragettes and rights for women: Princess Sophia Duleep Singh, the maharajah's daughter who joined the struggle|url=https://www.thetimes.com/uk/society/article/suffragettes-and-rights-for-women-princess-sophia-duleep-singh-the-maharajahs-daughter-who-joined-the-struggle-zr0kznxnj|access-date=5 February 2018|work=[[The Times]]|date=4 February 2018}}</ref>

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.<ref name=gov>{{cite web|url=https://www.gov.uk/government/news/historic-statue-of-suffragist-leader-millicent-fawcett-unveiled-in-parliament-square|title=Historic statue of suffragist leader Millicent Fawcett unveiled in Parliament Square|publisher=Gov.uk|access-date=24 April 2018|date=24 April 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Topping|first=Alexandra|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/apr/24/first-statue-of-a-woman-in-parliament-square-millicent-fawcett|title=First statue of a woman in Parliament Square unveiled|work=The Guardian|date=24 April 2018|access-date=24 April 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://inews.co.uk/inews-lifestyle/women/millicent-fawcett-statue-parliament-square-london-caroline-criado-perez/ |title=Millicent Fawcett statue unveiling: the women and men whose names will be on the plinth |publisher=iNews |date= 24 April 2018|access-date=25 April 2018}}</ref>

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.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://library.unt.edu/events/2020/03-03-fem-flicks/|title=Fem Flicks Film Series: No Man Shall Protect Us – University Libraries – UNT}}</ref> 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.{{cn|date=September 2023}}

In January 2023, [[English Heritage]] announced that a [[blue plaque]] would be unveiled later that year on a house in [[Richmond, London|Richmond]], near [[Hampton Court Palace]] which [[Queen Victoria]] granted to Singh and her sisters in 1896.<ref>{{Cite web |title=2023 Blue Plaques |url=https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/about-us/search-news/2023-blue-plaques/ |access-date=27 January 2023 |website=English Heritage}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Thomas |first=Pramod |date=29 January 2023 |title=Sophia Duleep Singh to get Blue Plaque |url=https://www.easterneye.biz/sophia-duleep-singh-to-get-blue-plaque/ |access-date=19 March 2026 |work=Eastern Eye}}</ref> The plaque was unveiled at a ceremony on 26 May 2023.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Khanna |first1=Aditi |title=Princess Sophia Duleep Singh's UK home gets commemorative Blue Plaque |url=https://theprint.in/world/princess-sophia-duleep-singhs-uk-home-gets-commemorative-blue-plaque/1596419/ |access-date=26 May 2023 |work=ThePrint |date=26 May 2023}}</ref> In 2023 it was announced that English actress [[Paige Sandhu]] would portray Singh in a biographical film titled ''Lioness''.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Anderton |first1=Joe |title=Former Emmerdale star Paige Sandhu announces new role after Meena exit |url=https://www.digitalspy.com/soaps/emmerdale/a43980461/emmerdale-paige-sandhu-lioness-movie/ |access-date=26 September 2023 |work=[[Digital Spy]] |date=23 May 2023}}</ref>

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.<ref>{{Cite web |title=The Last Princesses of Punjab |url=https://www.hrp.org.uk/kensington-palace/whats-on/the-last-princesses-of-punjab/ |access-date=2026-01-13 |website=Historic Royal Palaces |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Thomas |first=Pramod |date=11 March 2026 |title=Kensington Palace to honour Indian princesses who defied the Nazis |url=https://www.easterneye.biz/kensington-palace-honours-indian-princesses-defied-nazis/ |access-date=19 March 2026 |work=Eastern Eye}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Thomas |first=Pramod |date=19 March 2026 |title=London exhibit tells story of Punjab’s last princesses |url=https://www.easterneye.biz/london-exhibit-punjab-last-princesses-story/ |access-date=19 March 2026 |work=Eastern Eye}}</ref>

==See also==
*[[List of suffragists and suffragettes]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Bibliography==
*{{cite book|last1= Ahmed |first1=Rehana |last2= Mukherjee |first2=Sumita |title=South Asian Resistances in Britain, 1858–1947|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LKhKb_6iqoUC&pg=PT171|date=22 December 2011|publisher=A & C Black|isbn=978-1-4411-5514-6}}
*{{cite book |last=Anand |first=Anita |author-link=Anita Anand (journalist) |title=Sophia: Princess, Suffragette, Revolutionary |url=http://anitaanand.net/book-stuff/ |year=2015 |publisher=Bloomsbury USA |isbn=9781408835456}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Sophia Duleep Singh}}
* Rozina Visram, "Duleep Singh, Princess Sophia Alexandra (1876–1948)", ''[[Oxford Dictionary of National Biography]]'', [[Oxford University Press]], September 2004
* https://www.hrp.org.uk/hampton-court-palace/history-and-stories/sophia-duleep-singh/

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Singh, Sophia Duleep}}
[[Category:1876 births]]
[[Category:1948 deaths]]
[[Category:19th-century Indian women]]
[[Category:19th-century Indian people]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian women]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian people]]
[[Category:British socialites]]
[[Category:English people of German descent]]
[[Category:English people of Indian descent]]
[[Category:English suffragettes]]
[[Category:English tax resisters]]
[[Category:Indian female royalty]]
[[Category:Indian people of German descent]]
[[Category:People from Elveden]]
[[Category:Indian suffragists]]
[[Category:Indian people of Ethiopian descent]]
[[Category:Voluntary Aid Detachment nurses]]
[[Category:20th-century British nurses]]

Sophia Duleep Singh - Revision history

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