29. He Had A Tragic Goodbye
In 1863, the biggest tragedy of Duleep's life hit. After barely a year of living in Britain, his mother Jind Kaur finally succumbed to her lifetime of torment, passing at the still-young age of 46. Although Duleep was at least beside her when it happened, it was small comfort for all the years the British had taken from him. But just as one chapter of his life ended, another began.
And it was juicy.
The Black Prince (2017), Brillstein Entertainment Partners
30. The British Wouldn't Let Him Bury His Mother Properly
The next year, Duleep traveled to Bombay to put his mother's ashes to rest, since the British wouldn't allow him to do it in her hometown of Lahore (classic). Still, this ended up being a fateful decree: While returning from Bombay, Duleep stopped off in Cairo and took a tour around a local girl's school. While there, he literally met his destiny.
The Black Prince (2017), Brillstein Entertainment Partners
31. He Fell In Love With A Scandalous Woman
One of the instructors at the school was the beautiful part-Ethiopian, part-German Bamba Muller, the illegitimate child of a prominent banker.
Crucially, Muller was also a devout Christian—one of the only ones at the institution. Duleep must have liked what he saw, because after he met her, he began gifting the "school" with incredibly lavish gifts. Still, he may have kept his crush on the down low for a reason...
The Black Prince (2017), Brillstein Entertainment Partners
32. Queen Victoria Was His Matchmaker
When Duleep got back to England and his old frenemy Queen Victoria, a strange kind of pressure began mounting. Victoria had decided that, now that his mother was well and truly out of the way, it was time for Duleep to marry.
In particular, Victoria wanted him to make a match with a British-assimilated Indian princess because, you know, who else would be worthy? But Duleep had other ideas.
33. He Had A Type
Forever wiggling underneath Victorian meddling, Duleep decided he didn't want a perfect British subject. Instead, he wanted someone "less sophisticated," AKA less touched by colonialism. And he had just the idea: He wrote to the old girl's school in Cairo and asked the missionaries there if they could recommend anyone who was both Christian and of Eastern descent.
Considering Bamba was the only one there who fit that description, methinks Duleep already knew who he wanted. But that didn't mean he had a smooth time of it.
The Black Prince (2017), Brillstein Entertainment Partners
34. His Love Nearly Rejected Him
You might think that a proposal from a prince would make any girl say yes. But Duleep's reality was much different. Bamba was reluctant to uproot her life and stop teaching children, which she considered her main ambition in life.
Eventually, though, she grew to believe this was God's way of saying "go get 'em, girl," and she consented to him. Which is where things got truly awkward.
The Black Prince (2017), Brillstein Entertainment Partners
35. He Made A Bizarre Proposal
When it came time for Duleep's official proposal to Bamba, it was mighty hard to get much romance in. Duleep spoke zero Arabic, while Muller spoke only Arabic, and he had to use an intermediary just to pop the question. In fact, when the pair married in a small ceremony in Alexandria in 1864, they spoke their vows in different languages.
Quirky, right? Unfortunately, their future was less quirky, more devastating.
The Black Prince (2017), Brillstein Entertainment Partners
36. He Watched His Baby Die
In 1865, Duleep was expecting his very first child with Bamba, who was due any day now. It all ended in blood and tears. Although Bamba gave birth to a son that year, the boy died just a day later, without the couple ever even giving him a name. For Duleep and Bamba, who had both seen so much hardship, it must have been a crushing blow.
Duleep reacted the only way he knew how.
The Black Prince (2017), Brillstein Entertainment Partners
37. He Was Very Virile
Duleep knew that if at first you don't succeed, ignore the trauma and try again: Eventually, he and Bamba had a whopping six healthy children together, most of whom made it into adulthood and had glittering lives among both the British and the Indian elite. All in all, the pair were married for over two decades...but behind bedroom doors, it was no fairy tale.
The Black Prince (2017), Brillstein Entertainment Partners
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38. He Was Unfaithful
If you believe the rumors, Duleep was far from faithful to Bamba. In fact, he was obsessed with one "other woman" in particular: The French princess Ada Douglas Wetherill. As the years wore on, Duleep got restless in his marriage and domestic duties to Muller and began spending more and more time with Wetherill. And that wasn't all he was restless about.
39. He Got Arrested
In 1886, Duleep got another irresistible pull to return home to India, and this time he didn't take no for an answer.
Amid objections from the India Office, he set sail with Bamba and his children. Until it all unraveled. After catching up to him in the middle-eastern city of Aden, the British arrested him and demanded that he turn back in Queen Victoria's name. Duleep did not do this. No, his response was ten times more jaw-dropping.
The Black Prince (2017), Brillstein Entertainment Partners
40. He Abandoned His Family
Upon receiving this ultimatum from the British, Duleep fled to Paris.
..without his family. Yes, he seriously abandoned Bamba and the children to their own fates, instead preferring to go solo to France. And that wasn't all. When he got to the City of Love, his long-term mistress Ada Wetherill reportedly shacked up with him, too. OUCH, Duleep. Ugh, and he wasn't done yet.
The Black Prince (2017), Brillstein Entertainment Partners
41. He Married His Mistress
A mere year after her husband chucked her at the border to abscond with another woman ()!
Bamba Muller died at just 39 years old. Duleep repaid her with stunning cruelty. Two years later, he made things official with Wetherill and married her, going on to have two more children with the royal-mistress-turned-wife. Oh, but they got a comeuppance.
The Black Prince (2017), Brillstein Entertainment Partners
42. Queen Victoria Rejected His Wife
You don't get through that kind of explosive mid-life crisis quietly, and one person in particular noticed that Duleep was coming apart at the seams: Queen Victoria.
Well, she was not amused. Forever after, Victoria refused to meet Ada Wetherill in any kind of polite company, citing her respect for Bamba Muller's memory. Hey, the broad can do some things right.
43. He Converted Back To Sikhism
Even though his "return to India plan" was foiled, Duleep managed to stick it to the British in another way: He got reinitiated into Sikhism. He had wanted his reconversion ceremony to take place in the homeland of both himself and his faith, but managed to pull off a more casual, impromptu one in Aden while he was being detained.
The Maharaja’s cousin, Sardar Thakar Singh Sandhawalia, was instrumental in both his reintroduction to Sikhism and this successful re-initiation, as he sent emissaries to Aden to accomplish the latter. The Queen could keep the Maharaja from India, but she couldn’t keep Indians from the Maharaja! With this accomplished, Duleep set his sights on a violent aim.
The Black Prince (2017), Brillstein Entertainment Partners
44. He Tried To Get Russia To Invade India
At this point, Duleep was very much in an "off" phase of his on/off, toxic friendship with Queen Victoria, and he let her know it under no uncertain terms. While living in Paris, Duleep and his then-mistress Ada traveled to St.
Petersburg, Russia. His mission: Convince the Czar to invade India through the north and re-install him as ruler. Unfortunately, the Czar did not take the bait.
45. He Fathered A Famous Suffragette
Duleep Singh’s third daughter, Princess Sophia Singh, became a famous suffragette in the United Kingdom. She was a leader in the Women’s Tax Resistance League, which advocated for refusing to pay taxes in protest of women’s ongoing disenfranchisement. And she did this all while living in a palace apartment given to her by Queen Victoria.
Turns out biting the hand that feeds you isn’t always a bad idea—especially when it’s the hand that stole your family’s plate.
46. He Was The Last True Owner Of A Legendary Diamond
Once the young Duleep took the throne all those years ago, he automatically became the owner of the renowned Koh-i-Noor, one of the largest cut diamonds on Earth. As a child, Duleep wore it in court at Lahore, fastened to his arm.
But it suffered a dark fate. The British seized it as a spoil of war, giving it to Queen Victoria for her own crown jewels collection.
47. He Went Under The Radar
While compliant by most standards, Duleep Singh rebelled when it came to his heraldry. The Maharaja and his family used an illicit coat of arms that was not registered at the College of Arms, even though it had been drawn up by Prince Albert.
To be fair, the family motto was “to do good rather than be conspicuous,” and there is nothing more conspicuous than registering your coat of arms.
48. He Was Both An Indian King And A British Knight
In 1861, Queen Victoria continued her strategic adulation of Maharaja Duleep Singh, naming him one of the first handful of knights in the brand spanking new Order of the Star of India. This appointment netted him the appellation “Sir” in addition to his longstanding—and long limited in terms of real power—title of Maharaja.
The Black Prince (2017), Brillstein Entertainment Partners
49. He Was In A Cult
Duleep Singh was a member of the Freemasons, AKA the actual fraternal organization upon which The Simpsons’ famous Stonecutters organization was based, if that's more your bag. Indeed, he was involved in all sorts of shady spiritualism; one account has him entering a room arm-in-arm with the notorious occultist Madame Blavatsky.
50. He Was A Man Of Many Names
Duleep's name comes in many forms: Duleep, Dhulip, Dulip, Dhalip, Dhuleep, and Dalip. Despite the fact that he used "Duleep" when writing it himself—and surely he was the foremost authority on the matter—even some official British documents refer to him as Dalip. They do follow it up with “the Ultimate,” but does that really make up for their sins against him?
The Black Prince (2017), Brillstein Entertainment Partners
51. He Lives On
In digital spirit, at least.
Maharaja Duleep Singh has been immortalized in a video game, of all places. Duleep is a character in Ubisoft’s well-known action-adventure video game series, Assassin’s Creed. A young Duleep Singh figures in its 2015 installment, Assassin’s Creed Syndicate. The Maharaja and his battle for his kingdom live on!
The Black Prince (2017), Brillstein Entertainment Partners
52. He Made Queen Victoria A Godmother
Adding further intrigue to their odd dynamic of crush and controller, Queen Victoria ended up being the godmother to many of Duleep Singh’s children. Though there could have been a disturbing motive behind this.
53. His Relationship With Queen Victoria Inspired A Movie
Not only was Duleep Singh a muse to Queen Victoria, but their relationship was also a muse for filmmaker Kavi Raz. His 2017 historical drama, The Black Prince, centers on the Stockholm Syndrome-like relationship between the two royals. Unfortunately, critics didn't love the movie, despite its salacious subject matter.
The Black Prince (2017), Brillstein Entertainment Partners
54. He Was "The Black Prince Of Perthshire"
While in the United Kingdom, Duleep took a liking to Scotland and, at age 20, managed to rent a castle there from a Scottish Earl. He quickly set about making a name for himself...though not always for the best reasons. The surrounding commoners knew him for his luxurious lifestyle and his shooting parties, as well as his penchant for dressing in Highland costume; these habits quickly had him dubbed “the Black Prince of Perthshire”.
Of course, Duleep was actually brown and not Black, but it seems that was none the difference for the pale Scots of the 1850s.
The Black Prince (2017), Brillstein Entertainment Partners
55. He Was A Narcissist
It may be a bit of reach, but Duleep might have indeed been a narcissist, considering that he gave his own name to all eight of his children. His three sons and five daughters alike had two to three given names, all followed by “Duleep Singh”. Okay, his first son with Bamba Muller died without a name, but it’s a safe bet how it would have ended.
Despite having so many children with his name, the Maharaja’s family lineage ended with this generation. All eight of his children died without legitimate issue.
Sophia: Suffragette Princess, BBC
56. He Had Something In Common With Another Famous King
In what must have been a scene reminiscent of Hamlet, Maharaja Duleep Singh’s eldest son, Prince Victor Albert Jay Duleep Singh, claimed he saw a vision of his father looking at him through a picture frame one day. But the creepiest part came later. As Prince Victor soon found out, he had this vision just a day before his father's death. Might I suggest you pursue haunting Queen Victoria instead, dear Maharaja?
57. He Died Too Young
Though it was largely unwillingly and at the behest of the British Empire, Duleep was a bit of a globetrotter throughout his troubled life and, true to style, died outside of his putative homes of India and England. Instead, at only 55, Duleep took his last breath in Paris, after suffering a stroke. One might hope he was finally freed from his life under British tyranny...but one further indignity loomed.
The Black Prince (2017), Brillstein Entertainment Partners
58. He Died Alone
Adding insult to the many injuries of his short life, Duleep Singh died in circumstances unbecoming of a royal: He passed away alone in a Paris hotel room, broke and indebted to many. After all, Duleep Singh’s lavish life of large estates, recreational hunting, and fancy parties were largely behind him by the time he passed. Still, the British had one final betrayal for him.
59. He Didn't Get His Last Wish
Duleep explicitly wanted his family to return his body to India upon his death but, like his many wishes to return home while he was still alive, the British denied this one too, fearing the insurrection his homecoming might foment.
Instead, they buried his body next to that of his wife, Maharani Bamba, following Christian rites. Even in death, the Crown couldn't risk Maharaja Duleep Singh’s power over his people.
60. The British Betrayed Him After Death
Despite being the last Maharajah of the Sikh Empire, Duleep Singh was born in what is now Pakistan, an Islamic Republic. At the time, his birthplace of Lahore in the province of Punjab was actually the capital of the Sikh Empire.
However, after the British partitioned India in 1947, they gave this part of Punjab to Pakistan. Thus, the Maharajah continued to lose his kingdom even after death.
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