Born Knightsbridge 1869, died Lahore 1957
Princess Bamba Duleep Singh's life spanned 87 years and three empires, from Victorian London to newly created Pakistan.
Snapshot · Empire: World History
371. The First British Indians: Last Sikh In Lahore (Ep 3)
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Jun 24, 2026
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Who Was Princess Bamba? Birth, Character and the Weight of Dispossession
At 7:07 · chapter starts 2:58
Anita sketches Bamba's biography in broad, immediate strokes: born Knightsbridge 1869, died Lahore 1957 — a life stretching from Victorian London to newly created Pakistan. [1] — Anita Arundhati "Born Knightsbridge 1869, died Lahore 1957: Princess Bamba Duleep Singh's life spanned 87 years and three empires, from Victorian London to …" 07:07 The name Bamba means 'pink' in Arabic, given to her mother because the Maharani blushed whenever noticed; this Bamba, Anita jokes, spent her whole life demanding to be noticed and 'kicking up merry hell.' Reports sent to Queen Victoria described the children's characters with unsettling precision: Victor was imperious, Freddie obstinate, Catherine secretive, and Princess Bamba — assessed from the age of three — had the worst temper in the nursery. Her psychology was formed by two absences: a father who was physically present but emotionally distant, who nonetheless filled his children with stories of the Golden Temple, the Lahore Fort, and their grandfather Ranjit Singh, the Lion of Punjab; and a Queen who tolerated the sisters only for Sophia's sake. Bamba absorbed those stories as birthright, following her father in calling Victoria 'Mrs. Fagan — receiver of stolen goods.' [2] — Anita Arundhati "She's the one who decides to refer to Queen Victoria as Mrs. Fagan, as her father did, the receiver of stolen goods, always irked by what w…" 08:23 Against the world, the sisters clung to each other like 'fingers on a fist' — and that psychological fortification would define Bamba's choices for the rest of her remarkable, raging life.
The Woman Who Called Victoria 'Mrs. Fagan'
Princess Bamba refused to accept what the British did to her father's kingdom. She followed his lead in calling Queen Victoria 'Mrs. Fagan — receiver of stolen goods,' and that fury burned in her for the rest of her life.
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