Duleep Singh’s Statue

The last Maharajah of the Sikh kingdom of the Punjab, Duleep Singh was still a child when the British annexed the Punjab in 1849 and forced him to sign a punitive treaty. Made to give up his throne and surrender the Koh-i-noor diamond to Queen Victoria, Singh was allowed to keep his title and he spent most of his adult life exiled in England.

In 1863 he purchased the Elveden country estate on the Norfolk-Suffolk border near Thetford. He enjoyed living in Elveden Hall and the surrounding area and restored the church, cottages, and school. He transformed the run-down estate into an efficient game preserve and it was here that he gained his reputation as the fourth best shot in England.  But after his death the estate had to be sold to pay off his debts.

This book provides a concise biography of the Maharajah’s colourful life, stressing the humiliations imposed by the British on the last ruler of the Sikhs.