Once popular with Indian princes, classic cars are now housed in a Rajasthan museum
A fleet of Rolls-Royces owned by an Indian royal house are the centrepiece of a vintage car collection in Rajasthan, says Mark Sharp
More than 600 stately princes ruled over half of India's territory during British colonial times. Along with their opulent palaces and grand mansions, other trappings of royalty included fleets of luxury cars.
In the first half of the 20th century, Rolls-Royce exported more than 800 cars to India, second only to the number bound for the United States. The so-called playboy princes were so obsessed with the British marque that they often ordered several at a time, reserving one that could be cannibalised for spare parts.
Distinguished passengers over the years have included Queen Elizabeth and Jacqueline Kennedy
After India won its independence in 1947, the princes ceded administration of the fiefdoms to the state. Then, in 1971, Indira Gandhi's Congress party, under pressure to address crippling poverty, stripped the rulers of their titles, withdrew their privy purse and burdened them with land taxes.
They kept their grand properties but were suddenly in need of new sources of income. Many became businessmen, even transforming their lavish homes into luxury hotels that are now regarded as some of the world's most romantic.
The House of Mewar, which is based in the city of Udaipur in Rajasthan state, has gone a step further. The family has turned the Mewar State Motor Garage into a classic car museum housing historic vehicles belonging to the last three maharana.
Located in the grounds of the Garden Hotel, a mansion built in the 1920s, the Vintage and Classic Car Museum houses a collection of 20 vehicles, some more than 70 years old, and with some interesting stories to tell.