An Indian princess’s grave sits forgotten in London, 160 years later

In 1852, an 11-year-old Indian princess was baptised in Queen Victoria’s private chapel at Buckingham Palace, with the Queen herself becoming her godmother and lending her the name ‘Victoria.’ More than 160 years later, Princess Victoria Gowramma of Coorg’s grave stands dilapidated and largely forgotten in London’s Brompton Cemetery.

Gowramma was the daughter of Chikka Veerarajendra, the last Raja of Kodagu, who was deposed by the British in 1834 and held as a political prisoner in Benaras for 14 years before travelling to London with his daughter in 1852 to secure her future and demand the return of his wealth.

Raised by an army couple and educated in Western ways, Gowramma was reported as elegant, jovial and doted upon by the Queen, who even tried matchmaking her with fellow adopted godchild Maharaja Duleep Singh, an effort that fizzled into a sibling-like friendship instead. She eventually found love with army colonel John Campbell, though the marriage crumbled amid his gambling and interest in her wealth, leaving her a single mother to her daughter Edith after 1861.

Barred from seeing her own father and living as an outsider within the royal family despite her closeness to the Queen, Gowramma’s health deteriorated in secret. She died of tuberculosis in 1864, just months before her 23rd birthday. Her great-great-grandson lives today in Australia.

Image: Wikimedia Commons/by Roger Fenton