Prince Victor Albert Jay Duleep Singh (10 July 1866 – 7 June 1918) was the eldest son of
Maharani Bamba Müller
Maharani Bamba, Lady Duleep Singh (born Bamba Müller; 6 July 1848 – 18 September 1887), was the Egyptian wife of Maharaja Duleep Singh, Sir Duleep Singh. Brought up by Christian missionaries, she married Sir Duleep Singh and became Maharani Ba ...
and
Maharaja Sir
Duleep Singh, the last Maharaja of
Lahore, and of the
Sikh Empire, and the grandson of Maharaja
Ranjit Singh
Ranjit Singh (13 November 1780 – 27 June 1839), popularly known as Sher-e-Punjab or "Lion of Punjab", was the first Maharaja of the Sikh Empire, which ruled the northwest Indian subcontinent in the early half of the 19th century. He s ...
.
Biography
Victor Duleep Singh was educated at
Eton Eton most commonly refers to Eton College, a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England.
Eton may also refer to:
Places
*Eton, Berkshire, a town in Berkshire, England
* Eton, Georgia, a town in the United States
* Éton, a commune in the Meuse dep ...
and
Trinity College, Cambridge, where he met Lady Anne Blanche Alice Coventry whom he would later marry. In 1887 he entered the
Royal Military College, Sandhurst, with a special Cadetship and left it the following December to be commissioned as Lieutenant into the
1st (Royal) Dragoons.
In 1889 Singh was stationed at
Halifax,
Nova Scotia, as a member of the staff of
General Sir John Ross, commander of British forces in
British North America. In December, he was rumoured to be engaged to marry Jeanne Turnure, daughter of Lawrence Turnure, a
New York City banker, after staying at the Turnure house in
Newport, Rhode Island, the previous summer; the rumour was however denied by the banker. In February the following year, Singh took a three-month leave of absence from the army to meet his father in
Paris, when rumours of unpaid creditors in Halifax became current for the first time. He continued to serve in the Royal Dragoons until he resigned his commission in 1898.
On the death of his father, Maharaja Sir
Duleep Singh, on 23 October 1893, Victor succeeded him as Head of the
Royal House of the Punjab
Royal may refer to:
People
* Royal (name), a list of people with either the surname or given name
* A member of a royal family
Places United States
* Royal, Arkansas, an unincorporated community
* Royal, Illinois, a village
* Royal, Iowa, a ci ...
.
On 4 January 1898, Prince Victor Albert Jay Duleep Singh married Lady Anne Coventry, a daughter of
the 9th Earl of Coventry, who was eight years younger than himself. The marriage created a sensation: it was the first time an Indian prince had married an English noblewoman, and the marriage was made possible primarily due to the intervention of
the Prince of Wales (subsequently King Edward VII). The wedding took place at
St Peter's Church, Eaton Square
St. Peter's Church, Eaton Square, is a Church of England parish church at the east end of Eaton Square, Belgravia, London. It is a neoclassical building designed by the architect Henry Hakewill with a hexastyle portico with Ionic columns and ...
, London, where
Queen Victoria was also represented. Although Queen Victoria gave the couple her blessing, she allegedly told Lady Anne to never have children with the Prince. The marriage remained childless.
Singh was declared
bankrupt on 4 September 1902, with debts totaling £117,900 (approximately £ in today's value), despite his £8,250 annual allowance and his wife's income of £2,500. The bankruptcy was attributed to bad investments and to gambling, something that plagued him for the rest of his life.
He died, without legitimate issue, aged 51, on 7 June 1918, and was buried at the Anglican Cemetery above
Monte Carlo. Beside him is the grave of his wife who died aged 82, on 2 July 1956.
Places to Visit
'' Duleep Singh''.
Honours
National dynastic honours
* House of Punjab: Sovereign Knight Grand Cross of the Propitious Star of Punjab
* House of Punjab: Sovereign Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Ranjit Singh
National honours
* : Recipient of the King Edward VII Coronation Medal
The King Edward VII Coronation Medal was a commemorative medal issued in 1902 to celebrate the coronation of King Edward VII and Queen Alexandra.
Issue
The medal was awarded in silver and bronze. It was issued in silver to members of the Royal fa ...
* : Recipient of the King George V Coronation Medal
Ancestry
References
Further reading
* ''The Duleep Singh's: The Photograph Album of Queen Victoria's Maharajah'', by Peter Bance. Sutton Publishing, .
* ''Soveriegn, Squire & Rebel: Maharajah Duleep Singh and the Heirs of a Lost Kingdom'', by Peter Bance. Coronet House Publishing,
*
Letters to Prince Victor Duleep Singh as a schoolboy from his parents and others. Also copies of Prince Victor's letters of 1897 to Queen Victoria and the Secretary of State for India on the subject of his engagement to Lady Anne Coventry.
External links
The Official Biography of Prince Victor Duleep Singh
'' Queensland University''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Singh, Victor Duleep
1866 births
1918 deaths
1st The Royal Dragoons officers
Alumni of Trinity College, Cambridge
Graduates of the Royal Military College, Sandhurst
People educated at Eton College
Sikh Empire
English Sikhs
Asian royalty
English people of Indian descent
English people of German descent
Indian people of German descent