Quote · Empire: World History
372. The First British Indians: The Sisters Rejected By Queen Victoria (Ep 4)
Where this was said
Irene's Suicide and the Letter on the Rock
At 45:51 · chapter starts 43:50
Two months after Freddie's funeral, Sophia received a telegram: a fisherman had pulled a woman's body from the Riviera. Irene had left two notes — one on a nearby rock identifying herself, one addressed to her lawyer Lancelot Smith, written on the morning of her death [1] — Irene Duleep Singh "Nobody will ever hear of me again, as I am going to commit suicide this afternoon. I am homeless. My nerves have prevented me continuing my…" 44:20 . Anita reads the letter in full, and it is devastating in its plainness: Irene writes that her nerves have prevented her studies, that she has been at Monte Carlo playing the fool and losing pocket money, and that she is 'homeless'. She apologises for troubling him. 'It is the last time. I am homeless.' William notes the brutal irony: at the time of writing, Irene had an estate worth approximately £30,000. She was not materially destitute. She was homeless in spirit — and no one had caught her.
Irene Duleep Singh wrote two notes before drowning herself in the Riviera in October 1926 — one to identify her body, one to her lawyer — whose key refrain was 'I am homeless', despite having an estate of £30,000.
Irene changed her will on the morning she died, cutting out her sister Pauline and leaving everything to Dr. Barnardo's Homes for Poor and Unwanted Children. It was a final, silent accusation: I was unloved. I was unwanted too.
Princess Irene Duleep Singh changed her will on the morning of her death, leaving her entire estate of approximately £30,000 to Dr. Barnardo's Homes for Poor and Unwanted Children rather than her sister Pauline.
