When Raja Baroda fell in love with the beautiful wife of a landlord, then how did the filmy wedding happen

She was extremely beautiful and mother of three children. She was married to a small landlord near Hyderabad. Her eyes met the Maharaja of Baroda in Chennai. Both of them fell in love with each other. The Maharaja was also married. Then the situation became such that it became difficult for both of them to live without each other. Then she asked for a divorce from her husband. The husband was adamant that he would not give a divorce. What happened after that and how she broke her marriage with her husband and became the Maharani of Baroda, the story of this is very interesting.

This extremely beautiful and fashionable woman of her time was Sita Devi, who later married the King of Baroda and became Maharani. But this marriage created such a furore, don’t even ask. This affair was the topic of discussion on everyone’s lips in those days.

She was born in Chennai on 12 May 1917. When the British Raj was ruling, all the kings of the independent princely states lived a luxurious life. They used to travel abroad. They lived in luxury. They used to throw parties. Even the queens used to travel to Europe. One such queen was Sita Devi of Baroda princely state, who left her landlord husband and married someone else.

Sita Devi was born in Madras (now Chennai). Her father was the king of a small Telugu kingdom Pithampur. Sita Devi was extremely beautiful. She had sharp features. She was married to a small landlord of Vayayur, MR Apparao Bahadur. They had three children. Sita Devi used to be present in high circles and royal parties. She was a close friend of Princess Nilofer, daughter-in-law of Hyderabad Nizam. Sita Devi became the center of attraction wherever she went with her beauty and style.

In 1943, he met Raja Pratap Singh Gaekwad of Baroda at Madras Horse Race Course. Pratap Singh’s wealth was talked about not only in the country but also abroad. When Pratap met Sita Devi, he fell in love with her at first sight.

Pratap Singh was not only married but also the father of four children. Gaekwad was desperate to make her his second queen at any cost. Sita Devi herself had also progressed so much in this love that she was desperate to get married.

When Sita’s husband came to know…
All this was not so easy. Sita’s husband Apparao lost his temper on hearing about the divorce and said bluntly that he will not give divorce under any circumstances. Forget about separation, he even warned Pratap Gaikwad to stay away from his wife.

Then how did Sita Devi get divorced
Neither Sita Devi was ready to agree nor Pratap was ready to back out. Maharaja Pratap Gaekwad’s legal team found a solution. Sita Devi was asked to convert to Islam. Sita Devi did the same. Even then Apparao refused to divorce her. Then Sita Devi got a divorce deed prepared, since she had converted to Islam, she could not live with her non-Muslim husband. According to Islam, she should be allowed to separate. The court granted permission.

Maharani Sita Devi with her son. (File photo)

The British government also created a problem
Now Sita Devi was free but Pratap Gaekwad faced a new problem. The British government created a legal complication. There was a law in Baroda that no one can marry a second time while the first wife is alive or without divorce. After a lot of efforts, the British government allowed the king to marry on the grounds that being a Maharaja, he is being exempted from the law. The condition was also that after Maharaja Pratap Gaekwad, the heir to the Baroda royal family would be the son of the first wife.

Sita Devi became a Hindu again and married again
Sita Devi who had become a Muslim, changed her religion through Arya Samaj. She became a Hindu. She left her three children with her ex-husband and married Maharaja Baroda. During their marriage, the world was embroiled in the Second World War. When the World War ended in 1946, Maharaja Baroda went on a Europe tour with his second wife. He wanted Sita Devi to be given a grand house in Europe. She was not interested in living in India.

She spent money generously
After visiting many countries of Europe, Maharani Sita Devi liked Monaco. Pratap Gaekwad bought a luxurious fort-like bungalow for the queen there. The Maharaja sent many precious goods and jewels from Baroda to Sita Devi. Meanwhile, Maharani Sita Devi gave birth to a son from Pratap.

In Monaco, Maharani Sita Devi was welcomed by the Maharaja and Maharani of Monaco. Sita Devi’s stay in Monaco was a matter of pride for her. Maharani’s image gradually became that of a Maharani who spends money lavishly and leads a luxurious life in the whole of Europe.

Maharani Sita Devi was a charming lady of her time. After settling in Europe, she spent money generously. She threw parties. She lived a luxurious life. (File photo)

became a fashion symbol of Europe
When India became independent in 1947, Baroda was merged into the Indian Union. The Indian government found that the treasury of Baroda was empty. The precious items were missing. They had been sent to Monaco. Queen Sita Devi refused to return them. The ownership of all these had been transferred to her name.

The queen was the owner of huge wealth
The queen soon made a special identity in Europe. She started moving in the high society there. She had her own status. At that time, Sita Devi’s wealth was estimated to be around 300 million dollars i.e. around 2200 crore rupees. Maharaja Pratap Gaekwad used to visit there several times a year. The queen would sometimes be in Europe and sometimes in America. She kept traveling.

This is also a story of Sita Devi
There is an anecdote that once the Queen was in America. She was having trouble talking to her husband on the phone from there. So she decided to come to London and talk to him. She came to London by flight. Talked to her husband. Then she flew back to America for a vacation.

Divorce from Maharaja too
In the later years, the Maharani started to run short of wealth. Maharaja Pratap Gaekwad’s treasury was starting to run out. Differences started to arise between her and the Maharani. The result of this was a divorce in 1956. This also gave the Maharani some more wealth. But the Maharani’s lavish spending continued. However, the Maharani started getting into debt. She started selling her expensive jewellery.
Later, Maharani Sita Devi’s only son died in 1985 due to drug and alcohol abuse. The queen could not bear this grief. On 15 February 1989, the queen died in Paris at the age of 71. But the discussions about her are still alive.

Gujarat, love affair, love story, Royal Wedding