Meet the Indian royal princess who became Queen Victoria's ‘goddaughter' but forgotten legacy of empire
At just 11 years old, Princess Gouramma of Coorg became the goddaughter of Queen Victoria, symbolizing what many in Britain viewed as a triumph of empire and civilizing mission. But behind the fanfare was a much darker truth.
Her life—rooted in royalty, torn by war, and reshaped by colonial expectations—ultimately became a somber lesson in cultural erasure. Born to the last king of Coorg, Gouramma's journey from South India to Victorian England was filled with symbolic conversions, emotional betrayals, and tragic isolation. Her story remains a powerful case study of how colonialism often demanded the costliest sacrifices from those it claimed to protect.
Queen Victoria
's goddaughter Princess Gouramma's journey from Coorg royalty
Princess Gouramma, daughter of Chikka Virarajendra, was born into the royal household of the Kodagu (Coorg) kingdom. Her privileged life came to an abrupt end in 1834 when the Coorg War resulted in her father's defeat and the annexation of the kingdom by the British East India Company. Branded a political prisoner, her father spent over a decade in exile in Benaras.
In 1852, with dreams of justice and integration, the deposed king traveled to England with Gouramma.
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His aim: to seek restitution and secure his daughter's future. Their arrival marked a historical milestone—they became the first known Indian royals to visit Britain. The king prioritized finding protection for Gouramma in the Christian world, paving the way for her introduction into elite British society.
Source: The Better India
How Princess Gouramma became part of Queen Victoria's royal circle
The young princess caught the attention of Queen Victoria, who formally baptized her and renamed her Victoria Gouramma of Coorg.
While this adoption appeared as an embrace, it actually transformed her into a symbol of imperial conquest. Her conversion to Christianity and integration into aristocratic life were seen as the 'civilizing' of an exotic other—a living endorsement of the British imperial agenda.
According to scholar Chandrica Barua, Gouramma's life was shaped more by cultural estrangement than courtly affection. Stripped of her language, identity, and heritage, she was groomed to fit Victorian norms.
Raised under the guardianship of Major and Mrs. Drummond, she lost touch with Kannada and could no longer speak to her father. Queen Victoria's diaries, often referring to her as the 'poor little princess,' hinted at both affection and underlying racial condescension.
Princess Gouramma's lonely marriage and fading royal dream in Victorian England
Though celebrated in social circles for her manners and elegance, Gouramma never found true acceptance. Her godmother, Queen Victoria, tried to arrange a marriage between her and Maharaja Duleep Singh, another Indian royal raised under British influence.
That union never materialized. Instead, Gouramma married Colonel John Campbell, a man nearly 50 years her senior—an arrangement that later revealed itself as more financial than affectionate.
Her marriage brought little comfort. Gouramma, now a mother to a daughter named Edith, was left emotionally and physically alone. Campbell showed little interest in either her or their child. Health complications, particularly tuberculosis, began to take a toll.
Historian Dr. Priya Atwal later revealed that Queen Victoria forbade Gouramma from seeing her father, fearing his 'heathen' influence—further severing the few ties she had to her past.
Princess Victoria Gouramma's forgotten grave and the rediscovery of her legacy
Victoria Gouramma died in 1864 at just 22 years old. Her passing was quiet, her grave in Brompton Cemetery overlooked for decades. Many believed her lineage ended there—until author C.P. Belliappa uncovered that Gouramma's descendants, including Robert Yardley, live on in Australia.
Rare family photographs later surfaced, shared by a descendant of Colonel Campbell's first wife, restoring some humanity to a life so often told through colonial lenses.
Princess Gouramma's story is not just a tragic tale of a displaced royal—it is a profound commentary on the costs of assimilation, the illusion of imperial acceptance, and the racialized hierarchy masked by politeness. Celebrated as a model of colonial success, she was ultimately abandoned by the very empire that had once championed her.
Her legacy is a quiet warning about the price paid by those who are forced to trade identity for acceptance and heritage for survival.
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