Maharaja Duleep Singh was the former Maharaja of Punjab who in 1849 at the age of 10 was removed from from the Punjab with his title and power devolved. The Koh-i-Noor Diamond was surrendered to Queen Victoria. Despite his exile and the removal of sovereignty, Duleep Singh became famous as a friend of Queen Victoria. He converted to Christianity in 1853 and settled in the UK in 1854. In 1864, Duleep Singh married Bamba Müller (of German and Egyptian descent) in Cairo and then established his family at Elveden Hall in Suffolk. Duleep Singh had raised the money by a loan from the India Office. They had eight children together. Queen Victoria was godmother to their eldest son.

Duleep Singh became known for his extravagant lifestyle, enjoying the countryside and game-shooting in particular. Duleep Singh also rebuilt the church, cottages and school in Elveden. Despite his lifestyle in Britain, he decided to fight to reclaim his land and title in the Punjab. In 1886 he returned to India where he re-converted to Sikhism. He went to live in Paris where he enlisted the help of Irish revolutionaries and the Russians to lead a revolt against the British in the Punjab but he was ultimately unsuccessful in bringing these plans to fruition. Bamba died in 1887, and in 1889 Singh married Ada Douglas Wetherill, an Englishwoman, in Paris. They had two children. He died in 1893 in Paris but his body was returned to Elveden, where he was buried.