Royal families live a life that the rest of us can only dream of. Like royal families everywhere, that holds true for Indian royal families, too. Born with silver spoons in their mouths, they leave no stone unturned to flaunt their luxury and royalty. People even today talk about their king-sized lifestyle and try to imagine how their world would have been. Here are some rare facts about the Royal families of India that keep them newsworthy even today:
1. Maharani Indira Devi of Cooch Behar ordered 100 pairs of shoes from one of the most famous designers of the 20th century, the Italian shoemaker Salvatore Ferragamo. It is said that some of these shoes were diamond studded.
2. Maharani Gayatri Devi of Jaipur was one of the most beautiful women of the Royal families of India. Tragedy struck this legendary beauty twice, first by taking away her husband who died in an accident while playing polo; and second, her son’s demise in 1997.
3. King Ashoka was famous for his brutality. He killed 99 of his 100 brothers for the throne and left just one alive and made him his deputy king.
4. The Wadiyar dynasty took over the Mysore empire by killing its king. The queen managed to escape but was later caught. She committed suicide after giving them a curse of an heir-less future. Later, the family installed her statue and worshipped her. This practice still continues in the palace.
5. Jaipur craftsmen were asked to create a huge sterling silver vessel by Maharaja Sawai Madho Singh II. The motive was to carry gangajal on his trip to England.
6. King Jai Singh of Alwar was insulted by a Rolls-Royce salesman in London. So, he ordered a fleet of Rolls-Royces to use them as cleaning cars to transport the city’s waste.
7. The Nizam of Hyderabad was insecure about his wealth being taken away by the government so he hid it all in trucks that later got infested by termites and moths.
8. Mir Usman Ali Khan, the last Nizam of Hyderabad used “Jacob Diamond” the fifth largest diamond in the world as a paperweight. The size of the diamond was about the size of ab Ostrich’s egg (184.97 ct) and was worth Rupees 50 Lakh. It is currently owned by the Government of India.
9. Prince Manvendra Singh Gohil was the only Royal to have accepted in public that he was gay. Unfortunately, he was later disowned by his family.
10. It is said that the Nawab of Junagarh owned 800 dogs, each with its individual human attendant. When two of his favorite dogs mated he spent lakhs on their “marriage” celebration.
11. Maharaja Bhupinder of Patiala was a kinky sort of Royal who had 88 known children and a large harem of wives. Once a year he used to parade naked before them to assure them that he was very much alive and well!
