Bamba Müller

Bamba Müller
Maharani Bamba Duleep Singh
Born	6 July 1848 Cairo, now Egypt
Died	18 September 1887 (aged 39)
Cause of death	kidney failure
Education	American Presbyterian Mission
Known for	a modern "Cinderella"
Title	Maharani
Spouse(s)	Duleep Singh
Children	six
Parent(s)	Ludwig Müller and Sophia

Maharani Bamba Duleep Singh (born Bamba Müller; July 6, 1848 – September 18, 1887) was the wife of Maharaja Duleep Singh. Brought up by Christian missionaries, she married Duleep Singh and became Maharani Bamba, wife of the last Maharaja of Lahore. Her transformation from illegitimate girl living in a Cairo mission to a Maharani living a life of luxury with the "Black Prince of Perthshire" has been compared to the "Cinderella" story.

Bamba Müller was the daughter of Ludwig Müller, a German merchant banker with the company Todd Müller and Co., by his mistress of Abyssinian descent called Sofia. The name Bamba was Arabic for pink. Her father already had a wife and he therefore placed his illegitimate daughter in the care of missionaries in Cairo. Her father had requested and paid for her education and he was still in contact with the missionaries. Müller became an enthusiastic and charismatic member of the Christian community and was the only female in a select group of communicants at the American Presbyterian Mission school in Cairo.

Duleep Singh had been the last ruler of the Sikh empire before he was dethroned by the British. In 1863 he was being supervised in Britain where he was a friend of Queen Victoria. He was known as the "Black Prince of Perthshire" around his home in Scotland. He was given money by the East India Company on condition that he complied with the will of the British Government. Duleep had been taken to Britain when a child and raised as a Christian. This was after he had been persuaded to agree to British rule of the Punjab. He had also been tricked to give away the Koh-i-Nor diamond and been separated from his mother, Maharani Jindan Kaur. His mother suffered a poor life in India and eventually she was allowed to rejoin her son in England. Duleep collected her after special permission was given. Duleep was allowed by the British to visit India for the second time to bury his mother after she died in Britain, although the body had to remain at Kensal Green Cemetery for nearly a year whilst this was agreed. His mother's ashes were not allowed to be buried in Lahore (the main city of the Punjab), but had to be placed in a memorial in Bombay.