Catherine Duleep Singh - the princess who defied the Nazis
In the history of World War II , few would have expected that an English -born Indian Sikh princess from a deposed royal family would secretly fight against Nazi Germany and live openly with a woman at a time when LGBTQ+ rights were neither recognized nor accepted.
But that is exactly what Princess Catherine Hilda Duleep Singh did.
She was the daughter of the last Maharaja of the Sikh Empire and went her own way - against all conventions.
Only in recent years has her story been rediscovered. British biographer Peter Bance has studied the Duleep Singh family for over 20 years and has retraced Catherine's impressive life from old letters and family records.
In a 2023 interview with the British online magazine "Metro," he said: "She didn't do all this to become famous. That's why there were no books about her. But the people she saved continue to tell her story. Entire families around the world have survived because of her."
Catherine was born in 1871 in Suffolk, England—far from the land of her father. As a 10-year-old boy, he was forced to surrender his kingdom—and the famous Koh-i-Noor diamond —to the British after they conquered Punjab, the home of the Duleep Singh family.
In return, the deposed Maharaja received a pension from the British Crown and had to promise that he would respect and recognize the British government.
He later married Bamba Müller, a woman of German and Ethiopian descent. They had six children—Catherine was the fourth. The family lived in exile, but under the patronage of Queen Victoria, who was Catherine's godmother.
Catherine studied at Oxford, joined the suffragette movement (activists who fought for women's rights in England in the early 20th century) with her sisters, and campaigned for women's suffrage. But it is her private life, especially during her time in Germany, that reveals how courageous and unconventional she truly was.
Catherine had a close relationship with her German governess, Lina Schäfer. After the early death of her parents, Catherine moved with her to Kassel. There, the two lived together for over 30 years in a villa that still exists today. Their relationship was never officially recognized—the two defied the social norms of the time. They lived together and remained inseparable until Lina's death in 1937.
At first, Catherine felt comfortable in Germany—the couple regularly visited the Bayreuth Festival, among other things. But with Hitler's rise to power, everything changed: Germany was no longer safe for Catherine.
"Being brown-skinned and a lesbian in Nazi Germany was extremely dangerous," says Peter Bance. He found letters in which friends warned her that she was being watched by the Nazis and should flee. But Catherine refused to go.
Despite the ever-increasing danger, Catherine used her money and influence to help several Jewish families leave Germany and start a new life in England. She wrote letters of recommendation, supported the refugees financially, and even acted as guarantors to help them obtain papers.
A particularly well-known example is the Hornstein family. The father, Wilhelm Hornstein, a Jewish lawyer and highly decorated World War I veteran, was arrested during the November Pogroms of 1938 and sent to a concentration camp . He was then released on the condition that he leave Germany immediately. Catherine organized the escape to England for him, his wife, and their children.
Decades later, things came full circle, as Peter Bance recounts in an interview with DW: In 2002, a man named Michael Bowles came to Peter Bance's office and reported the following: "My mother, my uncles, and my grandparents were saved by Princess Catherine. Without them, I wouldn't be here today." It later emerged that this man, Michael Bowles, was Ursula Hornstein's grandson , according to Peter Bance.
Catherine sheltered the Hornsteins and other refugees—including a doctor and his partner and a violinist—in her Buckinghamshire home. She also advocated for Jews interned in England as "enemy aliens"—particularly bitter for those who had fled anti-Semitism in Germany.
"I think she made a great contribution to humanity. It was a cruel time in which many people deliberately closed their eyes. Catherine could have simply said, 'None of this concerns me.' But she decided, 'I'm going to make this my own business,'" says Bance.
A strong legacyCatherine died in 1942 at the age of 71. Like her siblings, she had no children. In her will, she requested that part of her ashes be interred with Lina Schäfer in Kassel.
The grave has been neglected over the years – Peter Bance is now working with the Kassel cemetery to officially mark their shared resting place. "I think she would have appreciated that. They spent their lives together, and she loved Lina more than anything."
During their lifetimes, their relationship was kept secret, even though their family likely knew about it. But as more of Catherine's story becomes known, she becomes more of an LGBTQ+ icon—a woman who courageously loved and lived as she chose.
Princesses in the ResistancePeter Bance is currently writing a new book, scheduled to be published in 2026 to coincide with the "Princesses of Resistance" exhibition at Kensington Palace. It focuses on Catherine and her sisters Sophia and Bamba.
Bance will also provide items from his own collection - he has collected over 2,000 pieces in 25 years.
Bance once called Catherine the "Indian Schindler," a reference to the German industrialist Oskar Schindler , who is credited with saving some 1,200 Jews during the Holocaust . Even though Catherine wasn't able to save quite that many, Bance's stance is clear: "Whether you save one life or ten, you're saving someone who doesn't share your color, your religion, or your ethnic background. You're saving out of humanity. And that counts."
Her former university's website describes Catherine as: "A true LGBTQ+ icon. She risked her life for her beloved partner—and lived her university's motto: 'Including the excluded.' Catherine did more than that: She saved them."
Adapted from English: Silke Wünsch
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