In 1810 the throne of Travancore passed to Lakshmi, who inherited a kingdom in turmoil over the role of the East India Company. The new Queen, who was just nineteen, asked the Company’s resident, Colonel Munro, to help her steady the kingdom, and their policies included lowering taxes, halting the slave trade and improving healthcare.

After Queen Lakshmi died in 1815, her sister Parvati succeeded her. Though just thirteen, she drew on Munro’s experience to continue her sister’s reforms, abolishing discriminatory legislation and introducing state-funded teachers to Travancore’s schools. Parvati resigned the throne in favour of her nephew Swathi Thirunal, Lakshmi’s son, in 1829, who carried on the two Queens’ progressive policies.

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