Trivia about Gayatri Devi – Maharani of Jaipur
The former queen of the western Indian desert kingdom of Jaipur, Gayatri Devi died on July 29th 2009. Here is some interesting trivia about her.
She was born into the royal family of Cooch Behar in what is now eastern India on May 23, 1919.
Her father, Prince Jitendra Narayan of Cooch Behar, was the younger brother of the Yuvraj (Crown Prince). Her mother was Princess Indira Raje of Baroda, an extremely beautiful princess and a legendary socialite.
She lived with her parents in the swish part of London, close to Harrods, the world’s most famous department store, which boasted it could get anything in the world for its customers.
Gayatri Devi studied at Shantiniketan and later in Lausanne, Switzerland, where she travelled with her mother and siblings, then studied secretarial skills in London School of Secretaries; Brilliantmont and Monkey Club London.
Gayatri Devi’s classical good looks ensured that photographs of her in elegant chiffon saris and diamonds and pearls were splashed across fashion and lifestyle magazines.
She was voted among the 10 most beautiful women in the world by Vogue magazine in 1960.
She was also known for her love of horses and polo.
She became the third wife of Sawai Man Singh, the “maharaja” or ruler of Jaipur, in 1939.
She got a private plane at the age of 21.
She served three times as a national lawmaker.
In 1960 Gayatri Devi launched ‘swatantra’ party and contested and won a place in India’s Parliament.
After Gayatri won the Jaipur seat in the Lok Sabha in 1962, Kennedy introduced her during an event as “the woman with most staggering majority that anyone has ever earned in an election.”
She tasted victory in the world’s largest landslide poll win bagging 192,909 votes of 246,516 cast and the achievement was endorsed by the Guinness Book of Records.
Gayatri Devi was accused of breaking tax laws, and served 5 months in Tihar Jail in Delhi during the Emergency. She retired from politics after that experience.
She supported education for women and established a girl’s school which was named after her in Jaipur.
Gayatri Devi has two grandchildren who stay in London.