The Story The last princess of Punjab who saved families from the Holocaust - The Saturday Story
Mar 14, 2026
Jack Blackburn, a Times history correspondent who reads and main story, narrates Catherine Juleep Singh, goddaughter of Queen Victoria and daughter of the last Maharajah of Punjab. He describes her rescuing Jewish families to Britain, a meaningful pendant and its provenance, the Kassel meeting that triggered escapes, and her sisters’ exile and suffragette activism.
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Princess Secured Jewish Families' Escape
- Catherine Juleep Singh personally sponsored Jewish families to escape Nazi Germany, acting as guarantor and taking them into Britain in 1939.
- Her intervention began after a chance meeting in a Kassel doctor's surgery and included helping the Hornstein family and others like Reich and Gertmann.
Exhibition Reunites Objects To Reveal Hidden Histories
- The Kensington Palace exhibition reintroduces scattered heirlooms to tell layered histories of exile, activism, and rescue tied to one Punjabi royal family.
- Objects like the never-before-seen pendant link personal acts (rescue) to broader themes: suffrage, exile, and colonial legacy.
Catherine's Local Network Facilitated Multiple Rescues
- Catherine lived in Kassel with her partner Lena Schaefer and together they had helped many Jews escape before 1938.
- Beyond the Hornsteins, Catherine guaranteed passage for Wilhelm Meierstein, Marie-Louise Wolff and others, saving dozens.