At the end of October, an annual wreath-laying ceremony was held at Elveden Churchyard to honour Maharajah Duleep Singh, his first wife Maharani Bamba, and their youngest son, Prince Edward.
Organised by the Anglo Punjab Heritage Foundation, the event marked the 132nd anniversary of Maharajah Duleep Singh’s passing. He was the last Maharajah of the Punjab, and the first Sikh to settle in Britain.
The ceremony began with a welcome from Town Crier Mike Wabe, followed by prayers — the Ardaas led by Gearenee Baldev Singh from Norwich Gurdwara, and the Lord’s Prayer led by Cllr John Ward. Dignitaries including the Mayor of Thetford, Cllr Carla Barreto, author Bobby Bansal, and Pardeep Singh, Executive Director of the Sikh Heritage Museum of Canada, laid wreaths on the three graves.
After the Elveden ceremony, the group continued to the Ancient House Museum in Thetford, where Town Crier Mike Wabe read a special proclamation written for the occasion. The scroll was then gifted to the Sikh Heritage Museum of Canada.
Reflecting on the event, Pardeep Singh remarked that the Duleep Singh family’s legacy reaches across the world, and returning to Thetford allows him to reconnect with his Sikh heritage.
Cllr Robert Kybird spoke about the family’s local connections and thanked Sikh historian Peter Bance for his years of collaboration.
Oliver Bone, curator of the Ancient House Museum, highlighted the enduring significance of the Duleep Singh family to the museum. Prince Frederick Duleep Singh, its principal benefactor, played a vital role in its establishment. The museum is currently undergoing a redisplay to commemorate the centenary of both its founding and Prince Frederick’s death in 1926.
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