It has been several months since i posted anything on here due to my other exploits on http://www.3rdearlnews.blogspot.com/ which i must recommend highly so do kindly have a read.
The real reason is the story of one of the Maharajah's; the Maharajah Duleep Singh who was a friend of the court of Queen Victoria and rather prominent in the country during his exile.
What has prompted me to get back on here you may enquire; well, the V&A sent me one of their superb press packs, this recent one on the october exhibition on Maharajahs and one which you must endeavour to see.
The real reason is the story of one of the Maharajah's; the Maharajah Duleep Singh who was a friend of the court of Queen Victoria and rather prominent in the country during his exile.Am i the only person fascinated by the fact that the British "crew" in India decided to somehow put together a rather interesting "treaty of lahore" which gifted them the "koh i noor" diamond, which according to myth offers the owner the position as the ruler of the world, unfortunately after several years they still are not the rulers of the world, thanks to perhaps George III for fucking up the America takeover :)
Anyway, they deemed it important to get the heir to Ranjit Singh, 13 year old Duleep Singh, seen here on the on the left posing for royal court painter Winterhalter, t
o travel to Britain with the diamond and to offer it to Queen Victoria. Some may have immediately assumed well this will make it ok as the diamond was being handed over by a heir, but others may perhaps think otherwise; a 13 year old boy with no idea of the importance of what is at stake, being sent with perhaps an object that epitomises everything about his religion and background and somehow ending up being exiled in Britain and hugely protected from his original countrymen or any other form of contact deemed influential to his thoughts is maybe not such a good idea.
o travel to Britain with the diamond and to offer it to Queen Victoria. Some may have immediately assumed well this will make it ok as the diamond was being handed over by a heir, but others may perhaps think otherwise; a 13 year old boy with no idea of the importance of what is at stake, being sent with perhaps an object that epitomises everything about his religion and background and somehow ending up being exiled in Britain and hugely protected from his original countrymen or any other form of contact deemed influential to his thoughts is maybe not such a good idea. This is just one of the interesting reasons why you should check out the V&A exhibition to gain a further insight into the Maharajahs.
ps....He was forced to convert to Christianity as well and his requests to convert back refused.
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