A fascinating story about this young woman, Princess Helen Rundeer Singh Ahluwalia, the daughter of Randhir Singh, the ruling Maharajah in the state of Kapurthala in Punjab, and his third Rani Henrietta Melvina.

 

When Rani Henrietta divorced the Raja in 1869 she and her daughter Helen returned to London, where Helen entered London High Society. Often going out unchaperoned, she became quite a controversial figure, she was a model for artist Edwin Longsden Long, who, although now relatively obscure, was very well known at the time. Within his work, Helen could occasionally be seen in risqué poses, and some of her behaviour was seen as scandalous by the media of the time.

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Helen died of Tuberculosis was she was only 23, after a retreat at her sister’s house in Kelvedon Hatch, and was laid to rest in All Saints Church, in Doddinghurst near Brentwood.