UK museum donates £200,000 to mark the legacy of the last ruler of the Sikh Empire

The museum was established in 1924 by Prince Frederick Duleep Singh

London:

A museum in the UK has been awarded a grant of almost £200,000 by the National Lottery Heritage Fund to mark the legacy of Maharaja Duleep Singh, the last ruler of the Sikh Empire.

The funds were presented to the Ancient House Museum in Thetford, Norfolk, to mark its 100th anniversary, the BBC reports.

The museum was founded in 1924 by Prince Frederick Duleep Singh, son of Maharaja Duleep Singh.

The £198,059 (USD 251,712.99) grant will be used to tell the family’s story through displays, the report said.

Maharaja Dalip Singh was the youngest son of Maharaja Ranjit Singh, who established the Sikh Empire in Punjab in 1799.

Following the deaths of his father and brother, Duleep Singh became the ruler of the state at the age of five, but was deposed from the throne after Britain annexed Punjab in 1849.

Dalip Singh arrived in England at the age of 15 and later made his home at Elveden Hall, Suffolk.

His family remained in the area for the next century.

Dalip Singh’s second son, Prince Frederick, donated Thetford’s Ancient House Museum to the people of the city.

He was part of the Suffolk and Norfolk Yeomanry and served in the First World War.

Robin Llewellyn, director of England, Midlands and East for the National Lottery Heritage Fund, said the museum is now embarking on a two-year project to showcase “the fascinating history of the Dalip Singh family”.

Norfolk County Council said the new exhibits included “a magnificent ‘treasure’ of Anglo-Punjab history, a model of Elveden Hall, the loan of a portrait of Duleep Singh and displays marking the family’s contribution and activism towards achieving universal suffrage.” Will be included”.

The museum will also display family items, such as Dalip Singh’s walking stick, which was given to him by King Edward VII when he was Prince of Wales.

Margaret Dewsbury, Conservative cabinet member for communities at Norfolk County Council, said: “Through the visionary generosity of Prince Frederick Duleep Singh, for the past 100 years the Ancient House Museum has served the people of Thetford and beyond, while preserving the town’s history. Is it.” and the surrounding area.” The project has received further funding from Thetford Town Council Community Grant, Friends of Thetford Museum, Norfolk County Council and Arts Council England.

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