# @baljitrihal on Instagram

- **Type:** Image
- **Original URL:** https://www.instagram.com/p/De9KSLJlxP9
- **Gondola URL:** https://gondola.cc/posts/75927624-baljitrihal-instagram
- **Thumbnail:** https://img.gondola.cc/tr:w-,h-,fo-auto/postThumbnails/fc3ce6eb7c.jpg
- **Posted:** 2026-10-26T11:20:03.000+00:00
- **Account Owner:** Baljit Singh Rihal (@baljitrihal) — https://gondola.cc/baljitrihal

## Caption

A moving visit to The Last Princesses of Punjab exhibition at Kensington Palace. A story of royalty, injustice, courage and a family whose history is deeply intertwined with Britain.

At its heart is Princess Sophia Duleep Singh, granddaughter of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, goddaughter of Queen Victoria and a courageous campaigner in the suffragette movement. She used her position to fight for women’s right to vote.

Her story is shaped by extraordinary women. Her grandmother, Maharani Jind Kaur, was imprisoned and separated from her young son after the British conquest of Punjab. Her mother, Maharani Bamba, experienced displacement and tragedy. Her sisters, Catherine and Bamba, each had remarkable lives. And Queen Victoria’s relationship with the family reveals the contradictions of empire.

Behind the royal portraits is the painful history of a family stripped of its kingdom, wealth and identity under British rule. Yet these women showed remarkable resilience.

As someone proud of both my Sikh Punjabi roots and my British identity, this exhibition has real personal meaning.

It is encouraging to see our shared history coming to light, thanks to the fantastic research of historians who have devoted themselves to uncovering these stories.

History isn’t always comfortable, nor should it be. We cannot celebrate Britain’s past without acknowledging its injustices. These stories belong in our wider national history, not hidden away or reduced to footnotes.

The exhibition is thoughtfully laid out, with fascinating artefacts. Great to see pieces from the collections of davinder.s.toor and peter.bance on display.

Exhibitions like this matter. They educate, challenge perceptions and help future generations understand our shared past. We must support them.

I encourage everyone, whatever your background, to visit before it closes on 8 November.

This is Sikh history. Punjabi history. And British history too.

#LastPrincessesOfPunjab #SophiaDuleepSingh #Sikh #Punjabi #KensingtonPalace historicroyalpalaces

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## Credits

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## Tags

lastprincessesofpunjab, punjabi, sophiaduleepsingh, kensingtonpalace, sikh

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