When heritage detective Sundeep Braich attended the press preview of Kensington Palace's 2026 exhibition "The Last Princesses of Punjab" celebrating Princess Sophia Duleep Singh's 150th birthday, she asked: where are the actual last-born Duleep Singh princesses of Punjab?
Cited by Smithsonian Magazine for highlighting that the title was technically inaccurate, Sundeep noted that Maharaja Duleep Singh had a second family that included Princesses Pauline and Irene Duleep Singh, who were by simple chronology the actual last-born princesses of Punjab, despite Queen Victoria's opinions about their legitimacy and belonging.
By September, when Heritage Open Days returns, Sophia's 150th birthday celebrations will have passed, and we will be entering the centenary of her half-sister's death.
Irene was the last-born Duleep Singh and the first of the Duleep Singh princesses to die. Born in Paris on 25 October 1889, the city where her father, the Maharaja, would die less than four years later, her gravestone in the Cimetière de Monaco records her death as 8 October 1926, making 2026 her centenary year.
This online event completes the centenary journey begun in 2025, remembering Irene and giving her death the dignity she was denied 100 years ago, when her remaining sister and three half-sisters were all named in a probate fight for their dead sister's estate.
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Timings
- Friday 11 September:
- 1200-1330
Booking information
- Pre-booking requirement:
- Pre-booking not required
Accessibility details
Zoom should offer subtitles.
Additional information
The Zoom link will go live on the website the date of the event. Meeting ID: 756 0929 7869 / Passcode: mR104r
- Max number of people:
- 100
- Estimated duration:
- 1 hour(s) 30 minute(s)
