Born Sophia Jindan Alexandrovna Duleep-Singh on August 8, 1876, in London, England. Her parents were, Maharaja Duleep Singh and Bamba Müller. Duleep Singh was the last Maharaja of Lahore (in modern-day Pakistan), he was deposed by the British when he was 10. Bamba was the illegitimate daughter of a wealthy German banker and an Ethiopian slave named, Sofia. In 1854 the deposed maharaja was exiled to England and became a British citizen and was provided with a yearly pension. Sophia's name alludes to an incredible & diverse family history; Sophia, for her enslaved maternal grandmother, Jindan after her paternal grandmother, Maharani Jind Kaur and Alexandrovna, after her godmother, Queen (Alexandrina) Victoria. Sophia also had two sisters named, Bamba and Catherine.
Sophia's early childhood was spent at Elvedon Hall, in Suffolk, England; the palatial estate provided the family with all the pastimes typical of the English nobility. Her magical childhood was soon shattered, Sophia's parents separated and her father spent the last 6 years of his life, in Paris campaigning for his reinstatement to the Lahore throne. In 1887, her mother died, after which the children lived with Arthur Craigie Oliphant, who was appointed by Queen Victoria to be their guardian. While living with the Oliphant's in Brighton, Sophia went to a girl's school for 4 years and later completed her education on a 6-month tour with stops in Holland, Germany, Italy, Greece & Egypt.
Sophia and her sisters, inherited a £23,000 from their father, which has been called "a mere fraction of the wealth they could've expected from their patrimony". In 1896, Queen Victoria gifted Sophia with Faraday House, which was part of the Hampton Court Estate at the time; though not as palatial as her childhood home of Elvedon Hall, it gave Sophia a secure place to live and a place to entertain guests.
She had a real passion for life, she loved horseback riding, playing field hockey and bicycling. Sophia loved travelling and was an enthusiastic presence in aristocratic circles. She was also a lifelong animal lover, Sophia kept and showed many different dog breeds. She was a member of the Ladies' Kennel Association and showed her dogs a number of times including at the Annual Toy Dog Show at the Crystal Palace.
Sophia travelled twice to India with her sister, Bamba. The first time was in 1907, when they visited family in Lahore and Amritsar, Punjab and the second was in 1924, when the sisters toured Kashmir, Lahore, Amritsar and Muree. The second trip was particularly emotional, in Lahore an ecstatic crowd gathered to greet the Princesses, bedecked with saris and traditional jewelry. They shouted things like, "The princesses are here, the daughters of Maharaja Duleep Singh" and "We are with you, we will give you the world", the crowd was eventually dispersed by the police.
Sophia had both admiration and sympathy for the Indian people. She advocated for Indian peoples, especially women, her whole life. Sophia also formed a close relationship with the Sikh community in London, visiting the Sikh Temple in Shepard's Bush regularly and attended events organized by the India Office, including receptions for affluent Indians. Sophia also worked with the Indian Women's Education Association, volunteering with them in 1921. And like her father, Sophia supported the Lascars Club, which provided aid for Indian sailors stranded in London.
However, Sophia is best known for her role in the suffragist movement, she was an active member of the Women's Social & Political Union (WSPU). She was frequently seen selling copies of The Suffragette newspaper, out of Hampton Court Palace. In truth, much of the information that's known about Sophia is from The Suffragette and Votes for Women newspapers. She is even more known as a member of the Women's Tax Reform League (WTRL), which used the campaign slogan of "No vote, no tax!". In May 1911, Sophia was summoned to court and fined £3, for having a manservant, five dogs and a carriage without a license. She was arrested a second time in 1913 for not having a license for having dogs and a carriage. She resisted paying the fines, saying that "taxation without representation is tyranny".
Sophia was also present on Black Friday (November 18, 1910), on this day over 300 suffragettes marched from Caxton Hall to Parliament Square and demanded to see the prime minister. The prime minister didn't give them an audience and when the protestors refused to leave, the police responded with absolute brutality. Over the next several hours, 200 women were both physically and sexually assaulted, 2 would later die of their injuries. That day Sophia was at the head of the group along with figures like Elizabeth Garrett-Anderson and Emmeline Pankhurst. When the violence began, Sophia rescued a fellow suffragette from a particularly aggressive policeman and pursued him until she found out his identification number, in order to file a formal complaint about him. Over 100 protestors were arrested but released the next day, on the orders of Home Secretary Winston Churchill.
Sophia's older sister, Catherine was also an active member of the suffrage movement, she was a member of the National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies (NUWSS), which was founded in 1897. In November 1912, she organized an event in Birmingham promoting, "constitutional women's suffrage work". Both Sophia and Catherine continued attending dinners and gatherings of the suffrage movement, even after British women gained the vote.
During WW1, the WSPU and WTRL put all activity on hold to help the war effort. Sophia was part of the Women's War Work Procession, led by Emmeline Pankhurst in 1915. During the war, Sophia specifically wanted to help Indians who were fighting for the Allied Powers. In 1916, she raised money for the Red Cross by selling Indian flags, she did this alongside other Indian women, as a part of the Our Day celebration of the anniversary of the British Red Cross. In 1918, the YWCA War Emergency Committee, organized a flag day in London and later "India Day", in support of India's soldiers and Labour Corps; at the time Princess Sophia was the home secretary of the organization . The later event provided 50,000 huts for Indian soldiers. The princess also visited and nursed troops at Brighton Pavilion and other hospitals that took in Indian soldiers.
During WW2, Sophia moved to Colbatch House, in Buckinghamshire with her sister, Catherine. There she took in evacuees including the siblings, John, Michael & Shirley Sarbutt, who were sent away from West London. The children remembered their stay fondly: recalling the richly decorated home and sumptuous food. During air raids they squeezed into the air-raid shelter, surrounded by the princess' dogs.
Princess Sophia died in her sleep on August 22, 1948. She was cremated and upon request her ashes were taken to India for burial. Her legacy has endured even after her death, Princess Sophia disliked public speaking and was intent to leave the spotlight for other suffragettes. But her fame was a great asset to the women's rights movement in Britain; women over the age of 30, got the right to vote in 1918. But this was not the end for Sophia and she continued campaigning for equality for the rest of her life.
https://www.hrp.org.uk/hampton-court-palace/history-and-stories/sophia-duleep-singh/#gs.3tt6ah
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Female Rebels & Activists
No Ficción"We need women who are so strong they can be gentle, so educated they can be humble, so fierce they can be compassionate, so passionate they can be rational and so disciplined they can be free" ...
