Episode Summary
Executive Summary: This episode continues the story of Princess Catherine Duleep Singh, tracing her lifelong bond with her German governess Lina Schaefer, her move to Kassel, her quiet support for suffragettes, and her later role helping Jewish refugees escape Nazi Germany. The discussion frames Catherine as a neglected but remarkable figure whose love, loyalties, and wartime actions linked the British royal world, German society, and anti-Nazi rescue efforts.
Main Topics: Catherine Duleep Singh’s early life and family background (Priority: 5/5): Catherine is presented as the older sister of Sophia Duleep Singh, born into the tragic, highly surveilled Duleep Singh family and shaped by the death of her mother and absence of her father. Somerville College and the arrival of Lina Schaefer (Priority: 5/5): Catherine’s education at Somerville and the introduction of her governess Lina are central, with the hosts emphasizing that Lina becomes a lifelong companion rather than a temporary tutor. A likely lifelong romantic partnership (Priority: 5/5): The episode carefully argues that Catherine and Lina shared a deep loving relationship, possibly sexual but impossible to prove, and notes that contemporaries treated them as inseparable. Life in Kassel and wartime loyalty (Priority: 4/5): Catherine chooses to live in Kassel, Germany, where she remains through World War I and later becomes politically and emotionally aligned with Germany, even as Britain views her with suspicion. Aid to Jewish refugees from Nazi Germany (Priority: 5/5): New research reveals Catherine as a guarantor and sponsor for Jewish families fleeing Nazi persecution, using her status and resources to help them reach Britain. Return to England and final years (Priority: 4/5): After Lina’s death, Catherine is forced out of Germany in 1938, lives at Coalhatch House and then dies in 1942, with her ashes eventually returned near Lina’s grave.
Key Arguments: Catherine and Lina’s relationship was unusually intimate, durable, and central to both women’s lives for decades. Because lesbian relationships were not criminalized in England, their bond could exist in a legal grey area while still remaining socially invisible. Catherine’s political loyalties were complex: she opposed Britain’s treatment of India and later sympathized with Germany, but also helped Jews escape Nazi rule on humanitarian grounds. Her refugee aid was meaningful because British entry rules required a sponsor willing to house and support newcomers. The episode argues that women’s queer histories often survive only through fragments, inference, and family memory rather than explicit documentation.
Data Points: Catherine Duleep Singh birth year: 1871 - She is described as being born in Belgravia in 1871. Age difference between Catherine and Lina Schaefer: 12 years - Lina is said to be 12 years older than Catherine. Age when Catherine went to Somerville College: 17 - She is described as going to Oxford at 17 to study French and German. Oxford degrees for women: not awarded until 1920 - The hosts note that women could study and sit exams before then, but could not formally graduate. Year Hitler came to power: 1933 - Used as the point when Germany begins sliding into Nazism and racialized law. Year Hitler took the title Führer: 1934 - Marked as part of the tightening Nazi dictatorship. Nuremberg Laws year: 1935 - Mentioned as stripping German Jews of citizenship. Approximate age in late 1930s: Catherine 66–67; Lina in her 70s - They are described as an elderly pair living in Kassel as Nazi pressure intensifies. Date of Catherine’s death: 8 November 1942 - Sophia finds her dead at home and is deeply shaken. Reported number of lives saved by Oskar Schindler: 1,200 - Used comparatively when discussing Peter Bunc’s work calling Catherine an 'Indian Schindler'.
Pivotal Quotes: "these are two women who follow each other around the world and who never let go of each other's hands" — Anita Arnan: Describing the Catherine-Lina relationship as the emotional core of the story. "we are just happy little church mice" — Catherine Duleep Singh: Catherine’s letter from the Weimar era describing her domestic life with Lina in Kassel. "I desire that a quarter of my ashes be buried as near as possible to the coffin of my friend Frulein Lee" — Catherine Duleep Singh: Catherine’s final wish to be returned to the woman she loved after death.
Implications: The episode restores Catherine Duleep Singh as a key queer, anti-racist, and transnational historical figure, showing how private relationships shaped public action and how elite women could quietly sustain rescue networks under oppressive regimes.