Exhibition: The Last Princesses of 'Punjab'

May

2026

In a striking historical irony, Kensington Palace, London, once home to Queen Victoria, is currently hosting a tribute to Panjab’s royal family her Empire had deposed 177 years ago. The exhibition Last Princesses of Punjab opened on 26 Mar. It unearths the poignant saga of the descendants of Maharaja Ranjit Singh. Through a mélange of sepia-toned photographs, rare royal artefacts, and priceless heirlooms, it traces the lives of the children of Maharaja Duleep Singh, Ranjit’s youngest son and the last ruler of Panjab, who was exiled to England in 1849 after the British annexed his empire. British Sikh art collector-researcher Peter Bance calls the exhibition a 'labor of love'. As the author of the book The Last Royals of Lahore, Bance focuses on the 'correct preservation, restoration, and documentation' of Anglo-Panjab history. The London display explores the story of Sophia Duleep Singh and the women who shaped her journey, examining themes of courage, identity, and resistance. While Queen Victoria served as godmother to Sophia and provided financial guidance after Duleep Singh abandoned the family, the sisters forged radically independent paths. Princess Sophia became a pioneering suffragette voice at Hampton Court Palace. Her ‘No Vote, No Tax’ banners and a handwritten letter to Winston Churchill describing police brutality are central to the exhibition. The exhibition also covers Princess Bamba who sought to reconnect with her Panjabi heritage through her writings and Princess Catherine who quietly supported Jewish refugees fleeing Nazi Germany by offering them shelter in England. Scholar and historian Harinder Singh says, 'It's always a challenge to determine what the loyalists of the British and the Panjab Royals can digest and what the Sikh narrative demands...Initially, there was care to nuance e.g., the spelling of Panjab versus Punjab, conversions to Christianity, and so on. But it died down very soon...Largely, the focus remained on Princesses, and that was wonderful to see for 'Her Story' must be told much more. Their education, activism, sexuality, privilege, challenges, and more were carefully crafted along their journeys from independent Panjab to the UK, Egypt, Russia, France, India, and Pakistan. There is a constant battle between objects and narrative, which drives the exhibition. I saw that struggle in copy and material, from old to contemporary. Nonetheless, it is a welcome exhibition' (earlier coverage).