India’s royal families today: Bollywood actor Saif Ali Khan manages the Pataudi estate while the Rathores’ palace hosted Nick Jonas and Priyanka Chopra’s wedding
- Padmanabh Singh of Jaipur is a fashion model, polo player, avid traveller and millionaire who listed his palace suite on Airbnb … for US$8,000 per night
- Tiger Pataudi, former captain of the Indian cricket team, passed his estate to his son, but many palaces have since been turned into luxury heritage hotels
While the Indian monarchy was abolished in 1950, that didn’t mean the upper class maharajas that laid claim to the country’s many regal palaces just disappeared overnight. Far from it.
While some of the country’s rich network of family dynasties have lost their fame and status over the years, others have transformed their ancestral assets and wealth into blossoming businesses, managing to stay relevant and live luxuriously.
The Mewar dynasty
Probably one of the most notable royal families in Indian history, the Mewar dynasty has seen great kings like Maharana Pratap. Today, its lineage continues with 76th custodian Arvind Singh Mewar, who currently lives in the City Palace, Udaipur, with his family. Besides being a nominal king, Arvind Singh is also a successful businessman. He is the head of HRH Group of Hotels, India’s largest chain of heritage palace-hotels that has around 10 addresses under its portfolio.
The royal family of Jaipur
