Meeting Maharajah Duleep Singh & the Royals at the Ancient House Museum – Part 3

While vacationing in England, a plan came up to visit Elveden- The final resting place of the last ruler of Punjab; Maharajah Duleep Singh, the heir to the mighty Sikh empire son of Maharajah Ranjit Singh. The quest for the last traces of the Maharajah, at Elveden turned out to be quite an adventure. Locating the Elveden estate we had a soul-stirring experience when we visited the Saint Andrew’s Church where the 3 family graves are located, one being the grave of Maharajah Duleep Singh from 1893! 

Writer paying tribute at the grave of Maharajah Duleep Singh

Recall

For Indians the memories of Maharajah Duleep Singh are those of him being a child king exiled to England who presented the Kohinoor Diamond to Queen Victoria.

Subsequently we had reached the quiet town of Thetford to visit the Royals at the Ancient House Museum and view the regal statue of the Maharajah Duleep Singh in traditional Indian attire! We remembered Maharani Jindan’s role in her son Maharajah Duleep Singh’s life and how it she transformed his life being led like an English aristocrat to igniting  nationalism as a ruler of India again!

Regal Statue of Maharajah Duleep Singh in Thetford

Maharajah Duleep Singh at Thetford 

Only one tiny room in the Ancient House museum gives a glimpse into the life of Maharajah Duleep Singh in England – gifted to Thetford by the Maharajah’s son Frederick Duleep Singh!! Aided with audio guide and a short film. Whilst in the museum we learnt several engrossing stories connected to Maharajah Duleep Singh and his family. The room was filled with photographs, some memorabilia and an informative and interesting display was the family tree of Maharajah Duleep Singh from Maharajah Ranjit Singh to his last descendant.

Prince Frederick Duleep Singh

We came across a 1912 sepia colour photograph of the Maharajah Duleep Singh’s son Frederick Duleep Singh who looked like an English gentleman in 3 piece suit. The commentary mentioned that he bought the ancient House in 1921 with a thought to create a new museum for the Thetford town as he loved history and wrote books about grand houses in East Anglia himself! Besides Prince Freddy donated many paintings and objects that we spotted as we browsed further.

Sepia colour phptograph of benefactoe Prince Frederick Duleep Singh -1912

 Paintings at Ancient House Museum & London Exhibition

In the presentation hall outside we came across an impressive engraved print of T L Atkinson taken from an original oil-painting of the handsome young Maharajah in royal Indian attire from 1882 and comes from the private collection of Prince Frederick.

1882 Engraved print from an original oil-painting of the handsome Maharajah Duleep Singh in royal Indian attire

I again recalled and reconnected to my visit at the splendid Wallace house museum to witness the equally magnificent exhibition unlocking the world and lifetime of the brave-heart ‘Lion of Punjab’ Maharajah Ranjit Singh– the father of Duleep Singh. Towards the end of the exhibition we came across a beautiful Gouache sketch of child-king Maharajah Duleep Singh with Lord Dalhousie- the Governor General of India, dated 1849-50 after annexation of the Sikh empire by East India Company. From that painting done at the age of 11-12 years to this sketch, the Maharajah was a handsome man at 37!

Beautiful Gouache sketch of child -king Maharajah Duleep Singh 1839-40 after Anglo-Sikh War

Also mentionable is the white marble Bust of Maharajah Duleep Singh that we had seen previously at the Maharajah Ranjeet Singh exhibition in London. It was unique as Queen Victoria herself had commissioned an iconic portrait of the exiled child- Maharajah in 1854 by artist Winterhalter at her first meeting with him in London  and based on it later a white marble bust by an Italian sculptor Baron Carlo Marochetti was created! I wondered at the journey of the second similar Bust displayed at the exhibition from the private collection of the Maharajah.

A display of the replica of the Kohinoor diamond that was presented to Queen Victoria by Maharajah Duleep Singh

We had just passed a replica-display of Kohinoor diamond in the Ancient House museum and I reminiscence seeing the ‘True copy’ receipt marking the formal transfer of the Kohinoor-diamond from the Sikhs to the British; at the London exhibition that felt so ironic!

The historic ‘Receipt’ of the Diamond presented to Queen Victoria by the child Prince Duleep Singh!

Other Exhibits

Next to it is a coloured ink sketch of the beautiful Princess Catherine Duleep Singh, the sister of Prince Frederick, created in 2021 by Inkquisitive by combining her old photographs from 1897 and 1910 in London, that we had seen earlier.

Coloured ink sketch of the beautiful Princess Catherine Duleep Singh, the sister of Prince Frederick, ctreated from old similar photos!

In the narrow gallery ahead we saw the painting presented to the Ancient Museum by Prince Frederick depicting the Game-birds Great Bustard and Grouse painted from real stuffed specimens 1700-1800 AD! (Great Bustard is the world’s heaviest flighted bird that was extinct in Great Britain by 1832!)

We moved upstairs in the medieval Ancient house museum looking eagerly for more connections to Maharajah Duleep Singh and family especially Prince Frederick Duleep Singh. While ascending I recalled reading about the transformation of an Indian child prince and his family to British aristocrats! It was sagacity of historian Prince Frederick that some form of information of Maharajah and his descendants is still available at the museum that he gifted to Thetford town!!

Boy Prince Maharajah Duleep Singh portrait done when he just came to England