Leeds landmark is star role in award-winning movie
Leeds’ Harwood House is set to feature in an award-winning film that is released today (July 21).
From the makers of 12 Years a Slave, The Black Prince is a historic film biopic on the poignant life story of the last King of Punjab, Maharajah Duleep Singh, also known as The Black Prince, and his relationship with Queen Victoria.
In anticipation of its worldwide release, The Black Prince has won several awards, including Best Drama Feature at the L.A. Film Awards and Best Male Debut at the London Independent Film Festival.
The movie was filmed across the UK and India, with many parts of the film shot at Harewood House. It also features a star cast, including Jason Flemyng, Amanda Root, David Essex OBE and Satinder Sartaaj, who makes his film debut as The Black Prince.
The film aims to carefully captures the tragic yet fascinating true story and legacy of Maharajah Duleep Singh, providing a visual narrative of one of India’s noblest kings and his fragile relationship with Queen Victoria, who was godmother to his children.
As the last King of Punjab, the film chronicles Maharajah Duleep Singh’s lifelong struggle and daring journey of self-discovery to reclaim his identity, faith, and the Kingdom that was rightfully his.
This ultimately leads him to meeting his mother, long herself in exile, after 13 years. The film focuses on Queen Victoria’s warm relationship with Maharajah Duleep Singh as he begins adjusting to and ultimately embracing the English culture into which he was drawn at the age of 15.
The film also sheds light into his upbringing as an aristocrat in the UK who converts to Christianity under the influence of his foster parents, but later longs to return to his Kingdom, mother and roots.
His character, as it evolves is torn between two contrasting cultures, his royal ancestry from the Kingdom of Punjab as its last King, set against his upbringing in the UK as he embarks in a new journey of exile, away from his mother.
The movie is set to create a wave of intrigue in India and the UK as the story also touches upon the historically significant and priceless Kohinoor diamond, which was gifted by a young 13-year-old Maharajah Duleep Singh to Queen Victoria at a ceremony held in 1850 at Buckingham Palace.
