Welcome to the Historic Royal Palace's podcast, the podcast that explores the history and stories of our six palaces and the people whose lives have been shaped by them.

My name is Zakira and I work in the exhibition's team. Today we're going to be tackling a subject which some listeners may find upsetting, so please be aware that this episode may contain themes of scientific racist theories.

Hampton Court Palace is best known as the home of the Tudor dynasty,

but it also holds a place in the complicated history of the British Empire

and its colonisation of the Indian subcontinent.

It was at Hampton Court Palace that the British Indian Army was camped on several occasions

for large-scale celebrations from the coronation of Edward the 7th in 1902 to the 1937 coronation

of George the 6th. But behind all of the pomp and ceremony of these occasions is a much darker side

of subjugation, exploitation and of course colonialism. In this first episode, we'll aim to cover the

background and context of the British Indian Army, and in our second episode, we'll explore the cover the background and context of the British Indian Army,

and in our second episode, we'll explore the legacy of empire and why this history is relevant today.

Ongoan research at historical royal palaces is revealing more about the history, but for now,

a small exhibition has just opened at Hampton Court Palace to explore the Indian Army encampments

and everything that they entailed.

To help discuss this subject today, I'm joined by our community curators for the exhibition, Rav Singh and Dr.

Tejbar Singh Rall-Mil. Thanks for joining me today, both of you. Do you want to introduce

yourselves? Hello, I'm Rav Singh and I'm founder of a little history of the Sikhs. What we do

is translate research in modern day Sikh history and

heritage into walking tours in London, day trips in the southeast of England and study visits

to destinations in the UK and Europe. Hi, I'm Tedge. I'm a doctor by trade, but several years ago,

I saw a photo of my great-grandfather's regiment at Hampton Court Palace, and this inspired me to do a deep dive into the relationship

between the Indian Army and Hampton Court Palace.

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