Sovereign, Squire & Rebel: Maharajah Duleep Singh & the Heirs of a Lost Kingdom

By Peter Bance, Coronet House, 2009

First edition. Brand new sealed copy.

Free UK delivery. Dispatched with Royal Mail 2nd Class.

For international delivery please contact us for shipping quote before buying.

The fascinating story of the infant Maharajah, Duleep Singh who at the age of five years, found himself on the golden throne of the Punjab, the ‘Land of the Five Rivers,’ one of the most powerful independent Kingdoms in the Indian sub-continent and a thorn in the advancement of the British Empire. A Country built by his father, the legendary one-eyed Lion-of-the-Punjab, Ranjit Singh, who was a contemporary of Napoleon, and who ruled the region by the power of his sword and with the fear of his name. The infant Maharajah Duleep Singh had much to live up to, although he found the enemies of his reign were not just from over the British-Sutlej border.

After the Sikh Wars against the British Empire, Maharajah Duleep Singh, still a minor, was separated from his mother, surrendered the famed Koh-i-Noor diamond and was removed from power by the underhand-means of the East India Company. Effectively exiled to Britain, he became an instant favourite of Queen Victoria and an exotic party accessory. He passed his time with the crème de la crème of Victorian high society; shooting game with the Prince of Wales at his numerous Highland homes and led a most extravagant and lavish lifestyle. But after trying his hand at writing a West End play, standing for Parliament, playing the field, and remonstrating with the British Empire for the shortfall of his stipend, the deposed Sovereign became disillusioned by his surroundings and sought to make a stand against the tyrannical establishment under the watchful eye and encouragement of the disaffected Fenians, the French underworld, and Tsarist Russia.

The story of Maharajah Duleep Singh and his heirs is told superbly by the Peter Bance, in this his fourth book, with over 250 astounding and dazzling images, with many unseen photographs of the maharajah’s family and friends, along with an array of rich Sikh art from the period, with famous canvases commissioned by the Maharajah, which have become masterpieces in their own right.

The Maharajah’s family, the ‘Heirs of a Lost kingdom’ who became the god-children of Queen Victoria, played their own part in the story of Britain’s first Sikh and Indian Royal family, from being suffragette companions of Christabel Pankhurst, assisting Jews escape Nazi Germany, benefactors to East Anglia, founding a Norfolk museum, patrons of numerous English establishments, marrying an Earl’s daughter, to holding a mysterious secret Swiss bank account. The story of the Duleep Singhs will surely keep every reader captivated. ”