A memorial plaque to the Messalina of the Punjab - Maharani Jinda was unveiled at the historic Dissenter's Chapel at Kensal Green. The unveiling was jointly held with the London launch of  'Sovereign, Squire & Rebel: Maharajah Duleep Singh and the Heirs of a Lost Kingdom.'  The Chapel was the chosen venue as it had been the scene of the Maharani's funeral service in 1863 and her coffin was stored in the catacomb beneath the Chapel for a year before her son Duleep Singh took her remains to India for cremation.

Opening speeches were by Harbinder Singh Rana of the Anglo Sikh Heritage Trail, who had commissioned the large York stone plaque, followed by Peter Bance who spoke of Charles Dicken's visit to the Chapel to see the Maharani's coffin. The unveiling was completed by chief guest Patwant Singh who had travelled from New Delhi.

On the 1st August 1863, Maharani Jind Kaur died at Abingdon House in Kensington. Her service was conducted at Kensal Green, and the following Spring her son was given permission to take her remains to India. She was cremated on the banks of the River Godavari at Bombay as the British authorities would not allow him to proceed to the Punjab. In 2007, during the Chapel rennovation works, the Maharani's Indian inscipted gravestone was discovered lying beneath tonnes of rubble and earth. It was later restored and is now on display at Thetford Museum, Norfolk.

Guest at the unveiling included, film director Gurinder Chadha, Judge Mota SIngh, Dr Narinder Kapany (USA), Sue Stronge from the V&A, The SIngh Twins, Oliver Bone from Thetford Museum, and actor Deepak Verma.

Read 'The Times' coverage of this event, published on the 12th August 2009

Images Courtesy of Taran Singh