Coorg Princess, Adopted By Royals: Who Was Victoria Gouramma?

Meghan Markle isn’t the first ‘Royal of colour’ at the Buckingham Palace.

Victoria Gouramma: The Forgotten Princess of Coorg

(Photo: Altered by The Quint/Aroop Mishra)

Video Editors: Vivek Gupta, Deepthi Ramadas

(This story was originally published on 11 March 2021. This is being reposted from our archives to mark Victoria Gouramma's birth anniversary)

In a tell-all interview with chat show host Oprah Winfrey – for the first time since severing ties with the royal family – Meghan Markle revealed how she was a victim of targeted racism at the Buckingham Palace.

She also revealed how the royal family was concerned how ‘dark’ her then unborn son Archie’s skin colour might be, owning to her being a ‘woman of colour’.

In those months when I was pregnant... we have in tandem the conversations about how dark his skin might be when he’s born.

Meghan Markle on her son Archie, in an interview with Oprah Winfrey

However, Meghan isn’t the first ‘Royal of colour’ at the Buckingham Palace.

There once lived an honorary princess of colour, all the way from Kingdom of Coorg in India, but whose tragic fate at the hands of British monarchy is little known. This is the story of Victoria Gouramma – the forgotten princess of Coorg.

The First Indian Royal to be Christened, Baptised at Buckingham Palace

The Journey from Benaras to Britain

The year was 1834. On 24 April, following a short yet bloody war with the East India Company, the South Indian Kingdom of Coorg was annexed and the last king of the empire, Raja Chikka Virarajendra, was defeated, dethroned and later deported to Benaras (now Varanasi).

With the help of British doctor and close friend Dr William Jefferson, the exiled Raja Virarajendra sailed to London in March 1852 with two intentions:

• to demand that the British government in India return his ancestral wealth, and
• to offer his daughter, 11-year-old Princess Gouramma, to Queen Victoria for adoption, with a hope to secure her future

And Princess Gouramma’s Fate was Sealed...

When the 11-year-old princess arrived in London, Queen Victoria gave the father-daughter duo the royal treatment. She readily agreed to be Gouramma’s godmother and even gave her, her own name.

They were the first Indian Royals to visit England. And she, the first Indian royal to be converted to Christianity and baptised ‘Victoria’ by the Archbishop of Canterbury at the Buckingham Palace on 5 July 1852. Gouramma was also one of the earliest ‘persons of colour’ to become a member of the royal family.

Gouramma and her father soon after they arrived in London.

(Photo: royalparks.org.uk/)

The Transition to ‘Princess Victoria Gouramma’ Was Quick

But a Journey Long and Tough...

Princess Victoria was first put under the care of Mrs and Major Drummond, an Indian army couple who taught her to read and write, and groomed her into Western thoughts and ideals. Soon, she was moved from foster family to family.

She was reportedly not demure. She was regularly spotted at royal balls, drinking merrily and dancing with Englishmen. It naturally turned eyeballs with her life poured all over in the press.

An honorary princess, she spent a pompous life with the British royal family at the Buckingham Palace. But deep down, she was misled, misunderstood, lost and lonely.

Around this time, she also started ailing. She would reportedly cough blood frequently, and her health never improved.

Gouramma’s transition to Princess Victoria.

(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

The Other ‘Royals of Colour’

Gouramma wasn’t alone. Queen Victoria was known to adopt several young royals – many of them ‘persons of colour’, from around the British empire, as wards and god-children – to project a benevolent image of her family. Among them were Maharaja Duleep Singh and Sarah Bonetta Forbes – the other ‘royals of colour’ at the Buckingham Palace.

Maharaja Duleep Singh(left) and Sarah Bonetta Forbes(right)

(Photo: Altered by The Quint)

A Failed Match and a Troubled Marriage...

Maharaja Duleep Singh, the last king of the Sikh empire, was defeated, christened and exiled to London at the age of 15 in May 1854 and was soon adopted by Queen Victoria. He was later nicknamed the ‘Black’ prince of Perthshire.

The Queen and the entire royal family tried to play cupid and get him married to Gouramma.

In his book ‘Victoria Gowramma: The Lost Princess of Coorg’, CP Belliappa noted that the Queen thought she could encourage the spread of Christianity in India by matchmaking Princess Victoria with his beloved ward Maharaja Duleep.

(Graphics: The Quint/Shruti Mathur)

When Gouramma and Duleep Singh were introduced, there was unfortunately no spark between the two. They didn’t find each other suitable and remained friends throughout. The deposed Maharaja apparently regarded Gouramma as an ‘honorary sister’ rather than a potential wife.

Nineteen-year-old Gouramma fell for a 50-year-old army colonel John Campbell and married in 1860. Gouramma gave birth to her daughter Edith the following year. But she soon realised that her husband was a gambler who was only interested in her wealth.

Misunderstood, Betrayed and Lonely

In a series of tweets, historian Dr Priya Atwal highlighted the plight of Gouramma at the Buckingham Palace.

Writing for The Quint, Dr Atwal said, “Becoming Victoria’s namesake placed a heavy burden on Gouramma’s shoulders. Similarly to Meghan’s early experiences in Britain, Gouramma increasingly struggled with the culture shock and emotional challenges that came with being a foreign newcomer and an individual held in tight association with the royal family.”

Despite being a ‘royal’, the Queen’s godchildren were looked down upon and treated as ‘radicalised others’. Gouramma was reportedly banned from meeting her father and family.

(Graphics: The Quint/Shruti Mathur)

An ‘Honorary’ Princess Gone Too Soon...

Gouramma was desperate to find love, a family and a home she could call her own. She wanted a life of privacy and independence. But she ended up as a lost teenager.

Her husband neglected her. She soon found herself stuck in a loveless marriage. In March 1864, he disappeared with all her jewel and wealth, while an ailing Princess Victoria Gouramma succumbed to tuberculosis, just months before her 23rd birthday.