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India's 'Queen Mother' and friend of the Kennedys dies aged 90
Terry Kirby29 Jul 2009
One of the last remaining links to the romantic era of the Raj has died.
Ayesha Gayatri Devi, Maharani of Jaipur, was born a princess and was known to millions of Indians as their Rajmata or "Queen Mother".
She died aged 90.
Hailed by Vogue as one of the world's most beautiful women, and a member of two of India's leading royal dynasties, she is said to have killed her first panther at the age of 12.
It was this toughness, and her progressiveness, that led her into politics. She was given a five-month prison sentence by Indira Gandhi.
Despite her privileged background, she was seen as a leading champion of democracy and women's rights in India and supported charities and schools for children.
She raised eyebrows for smoking, driving cars and shooting when women in her home country were expected to remain discreetly in the background.
The Rajmata and her retinue would decamp to a flat in Belgravia between May and September to avoid the heat of the Indian summer and enjoy the London social scene, where she was a regular figure on the polo circuit.
Taken ill with stomach pains in London a couple of weeks ago, she was treated briefly at King Edward's Hospital before being flown by air ambulance back to her native country. She was in hospital in Jaipur when she died.
Last month the Rajmata co-hosted with Sir Evelyn de Rothschild and Sarah, Duchess of York, a fundraising party in London for Mark Shand's Elephant Family charity to save the Asian elephant. The two men were her closest friends in London.
Born in London in 1919 and educated in Switzerland, she enjoyed all the extravagant trappings of an Indian royal family, with hundreds of servants. Her father, Prince Jitendra Narayan of Cooch Behar, was the younger brother of the Yuvraja, the Crown Prince of India, and her mother was Princess Indira Raje of Baroda, herself an extremely beautiful princess and a legendary socialite. In 1940, she married Sir Sawai Man Singh II Bahadur, from the Jaipur royal family.
Considered a modern liberal politician, she entered active politics on an anti-Congress plank in 1962 when she founded the Swatantra Party in Rajasthan. She won a landslide victory in the Jaipur Lok Sabha seat in 1962 which still ranks in the Guinness Book of World Records as the world's largest election landslide.
After a crackdown on royal privileges, she was accused by Mrs Gandhi of breaking tax laws and served five months in prison.
She retired from politics afterwards and published her autobiography, APrincess Remembers, in 1976.
She was treated like a goddess in India, people touching her feet in deference, but she always felt she represented the ordinary people of Jaipur.
When she found developers knocking down some walls of her beloved city she ordered them to stop even though she had no power as Mrs Gandhi had stripped Indian rulers of their power and titles.
The result was that Jaipur was preserved as the "pink city" - one of the great heritage sites of the world.
Reader views (5)
A great loss to India and Britain,a true lady.
- Dave Whiteing, Toronto,Canada, 29/07/2009 23:53
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The best representation of Indian aristocracy to the world is sadly no more. Rest in peace Rajmata -
- Ilika Chakravarty, india, 29/07/2009 23:19
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A bit of the old India of Maharajahs and Princes has died with her. But she did try to adapt and fit into modern India and her charitable work was noted.
- Dhan Raj, Basildon, 29/07/2009 17:48
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If she is responsible for the preservation of Jaipur then she did a great job. It's a wonderful city. RIP.
- Tom Moncrieff, london, 29/07/2009 17:08
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Such a great loss of a strong Woman.
- Raminder Bhalla, Northolt, 29/07/2009 15:38
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