Quote · Empire: World History
372. The First British Indians: The Sisters Rejected By Queen Victoria (Ep 4)
Where this was said
Ada at War: Verdun, Monte Carlo, and the Hat Shop Deal
At 32:35 · chapter starts 29:20
The war reshuffled every sister's allegiances: Sophia nursed, Bamba quietly willed Britain to lose from India, Catherine sided with Germany. Ada, nobody's idea of an altruist, volunteered for the French Red Cross ambulance corps and tended the wounded at Verdun — one of the longest and bloodiest battles of the entire war [1] — Anita Anand "Ada volunteered for French Red Cross at Verdun: Ada Duleep Singh, formerly suspected of being a British spy and a habitual gambler, volunte…" 29:30 . That she did this from a position of Monte Carlo gambling habits and expensive Parisian villa life makes it all the more striking. When Ada returned to London in 1919, she had run up debts of over £17,000 and nowhere to live. Frederick again provided anonymous support. Then Ada marched into the India Office herself and offered them a deal: give me a small house and a hat shop and I will never bother you again. They accepted. The correspondence survives. Anita relishes it: she goes from a knocking shop to Verdun to millinery, and somehow makes it work.
Ada Duleep Singh, formerly suspected of being a British spy and a habitual gambler, volunteered for the French Red Cross ambulance corps during WWI and tended to soldiers at the Battle of Verdun.
When Ada Duleep Singh returned to London in 1919 after nursing at Verdun, she had accumulated debts of over £17,000 through her lifestyle, time with Madame Paraton, and gambling at Monte Carlo.
