Duleep Singh's first arrest at age 9
Sophia's first arrest occurred when she was 9 years old, when her father was stopped at Aden by British authorities in 1886.
Snapshot · Empire: World History
369. The First British Indians: The Suffragette Princess (Ep 1)
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Jun 17, 2026
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Sophia's Birth and Her Special Bond with Queen Victoria
At 17:06 · chapter starts 16:40
Anita Anand introduces Sophia's birth on 8 August 1876, during a heatwave, as the most photographed of Duleep's children. She is chosen as Queen Victoria's goddaughter, her middle name Alexandrovna a deliberate echo of the Queen's birth name Alexandrina — Duleep's way of cementing the connection while putting his own 'twist' on it. Victoria, despite the Sikh family's private nickname for her — 'Mrs. Fagin, the receiver of stolen goods' — genuinely warms to Sophia, and the episode notes she is the only daughter whom Victoria actually loves. On paper it looks like a charmed life: a grace-and-favour future in the heart of the British establishment. But Anand's ominous tone signals that this apparent security is about to collapse.
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