As the daughter of the Viceroy of India, Lady Constance Lytton (1869–1923) was born into a life of immense privilege. But her involvement in the women’s suffrage movement saw her swap palaces for prison cells. Lytton was converted to the cause after meeting while campaigning for prison reform.
Soon she was speaking across the country and petitioning her influential political connections on behalf of the Pankhursts. In 1909, Lytton was imprisoned in Holloway but was swiftly released when officers learned of her illustrious family background. In order to avoid similar special treatment on later arrests, Lytton adopted the alias Jane Warton, disguising herself as an “ugly London seamstress” during activities that might land her in prison, such as pelting MPs’ cars with stones.
Lytton’s dedication to the cause ran so deep that she even attempted to carve the words ‘Votes for Women’ into her skin while in prison. However, after carving a letter ‘V’ over her heart, she was prevented from completing the job by prison doctors. In 1914, she published a book about her experiences of incarceration and , reflecting: “When the ghastly process was over, I tapped on the wall and called out.
.. ‘No surrender’ and there came the answer past any doubt.
.. ‘No surrender’.
” Princess (1876–1948) didn’t fit the standard profile for a street-fighting political activist. Descended from Sikh royalty that had once ruled in northwest India, Sophia was a goddaughter of .