Maharani Sita Devi

Maharani By No Comments

Many characters from history often have disputable careers, including the royalty to which people usually refrain from pointing a finger at. Sita Devi of Baroda, may be considered one of these people. Sita Devi was born on May 12, 1917, in Madras. She was known as the “Indian Wallis Simpson”. She was a colorful lady who led an extravagant life for over 40 years and was a member of the international jet set.

Early Life :

Sita Devi was the daughter of the Maharaja of Pithapuram – Sri Raja Rao Venkata Kumara Mahipati Surya Rau Bahadur Garu and his wife Sri Rani Chinnamamba Devi of Mirzapuram.
Sita Devi first married M.R. Apparao Bahadur, Zamindar of Vayyur. By him she had one child Rajah M.Viduth Kumar Apparao.

Maharani Sita Devi

Meeting with the Gaekwad & marriage :

She met her second husband, Pratapinhrao Gaekwad of Baroda, at the Madras horse races in 1943. Pratapsinhrao was, at that time, considered the eighth richest man in world. It was also reported he was the second richest Indian prince. Instantly mesmerized by Sita Devi, the royal consulted with his legal team. The lawyers recommended that the Hindu Sita Devi convert to Islam, which would dissolve her marriage to the Zamindar under Indian law. She embraced Islam only to adopt Hinduism once again, after which they got married on 31st December 1943. Later they had one son together, born in 1945, his name was Sayaji Rao Gaekwad. Nicknamed “Princie”, he was the apple of Sita Devi’s eye.

The British & the Second Wife :

Pratapsinhrao took her as his second wife, which caused consternation with the British authorities, as this violated the anti-bigamy laws that the previous Gaekwad of Baroda enacted. The British Viceroy in New Delhi summoned him to contest this marriage. The latter argued that the law applied to the subjects of Baroda, and that he being their monarch was exempt from this law. This was confirmed by the Viceroy’s legal advice. The British government accepted the marriage, but didn’t refer to the Maharani as “her highness” as was the protocol for the princely states.

In search of a New Home :

In 1946, the Gaekwad took his second wife on a tour of Europe. The reason for their visit was to find a suitable residence away from India,. They found that the independent principality of Monaco was a suitable place to set up their second home. They bought a mansion in Monte Carlo and the Maharani took up permanent residence. The Gaekwad visited often, bringing some of the great treasures of Baroda to Monaco. The Maharani became the custodian of these treasures.

Shopping Spree :

The couple made two trips to the United States after the war. They went on a spending spree, buying all types of luxurious items. It was widely reported they spent $10 million on one of those trips. Indian officials audited the principality’s finances and concluded that Pratapsinhrao had taken several large interest-free loans from the Baroda treasury, and demanded that it be returned. The Prince complied by making several payments from his $8 million-a-year income.

Scattering of Baroda’s Jewels :

The princely couple transferred a copious amount from the Baroda treasury, including some of its most famous jewelry, including four celebrated Pearl carpets, a famed seven-strand necklace of priceless pearls (called the Baroda pearls), a three-strand diamond necklace with the famous Pink Brazilian Star of the South 128.80-carat (25.76 g) diamond and the English Dresden 78.53-carat (15.71 g) diamond. The couple also had custody of the Empress Eugenie Diamond. When Baroda was integrated into the newly independent India,Indian officials were eventually able to recover some of the items, but some of the jewels had been transferred to the Maharani’s ownership.

Years after the Maharani’s death some of the precious items were discovered. In 1994 the Pearl carpet were found in a Geneva vault which was sold to an Arab prince for $31 million. Currently this carpet is displayed at the Museum of Islamic Art at Doha, Qatar, even though it was commissioned by an Indian Maharaja. The Star of the South and other gems were located with jewelers in Amsterdam.

The Extravagant Parties :

She attended some of the most exclusive events on the globe and partied with other international luminaries. At the 1969 Ascot Gold Cup she invited guests to touch the 30-carat (6.0 g) sapphire on her right hand for good luck. Esquire Magazine included Sita Devi and Princie on its list of “fun couples” for 1969.

In 1953 the Maharani sold a pair of bejeweled anklets to Harry Winston. They had several large emeralds and diamonds. The jeweler set these stones into a spectacular necklace that was bought by the Duchess of Windsor Wallace Simpson. The Duchess wore this to a 1957 New York ball also attended by Sita Devi. When other guests were admiring the necklace, the Maharani was heard to exclaim that those jewels looked just as nice on her feet. The embarrassed Duchess returned the necklace to Winston.

The Deposition and the Divorce :

Eventually, due to the discrepancies and possible fraud, Pratapsinhrao was deposed in 1951 and his eldest son Fatehsinhrao by his first wife succeeded him. Technically, the couple were not heads of state any longer, but they insisted on still being referred by their former titles.

They got divorced in 1956 after which he promptly moved to London.

The Waning Days :

Even after the dissolution of her second marriage, she clung to her exalted title. Her Rolls-Royce still sported the armorial insignia of Baroda. She would reminisce about the days when she was referred to as royalty and received 101-gun salutes. Although she maintained a Paris apartment and continued to live in grand style, attending exclusive parties her spending days were slowly fading away. Eventually her finances exhausted enough for her to secretly auction some of her beloved jewels in 1974.

*

The Maharani suffered a tragedy in 1985, when Princie committed suicide one night when after his 40th birthday. His death was attributed to alcoholism and drug addiction. Four years later Sita Devi also passed away due to natural causes, the reason for which was a speculated broken heart.

Share:
Author

Connecting people to Sayaji Nagri - #Vadodara (#Baroda)'s History & Heritage...

No Comments

Leave a Reply

Then & Now