independence Before that, the royal family of Patiala was at the top among the rich princely states of the country. Maharaja Bhupinder Singh was the first person in the country who had his own private plane. The Maharaja’s lifestyle was such that even the British were jealous of him. When he used to go abroad, he used to rent an entire hotel. He had 44 Rolls Royce cars, out of which a convoy of 20 Rolls Royce cars was used only for touring the state on a daily basis.
Maharaja Bhupinder was such a king of the Patiala family. There are many stories about him. He was also the captain of the Indian cricket team. When the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) was set up, the Maharaja donated a huge amount of money to it. Apart from this, till the 40s, whenever the Indian team went abroad, he usually bore its expenses but in return he was also made the captain of the team.
The Maharaja was also the person who had the country’s first personal plane. He bought it from Britain in 1910. He had a full staff to fly and maintain the plane. A runway was also built in Patiala for this plane. The Maharaja often traveled abroad using it. This king had 88 legitimate children. It is possible that the number of his children was more than this. His splendor was discussed all over the world.
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Ten queens and more than 300 concubines
Diwan Jermani Das has written extensively about the Maharaja of Patiala in his book “Maharaja”. The Maharaja’s eccentricity and extravagant lifestyle has also been mentioned in detail in “Freedom at Midnight” by Lepier Collins and Dominque Lepierre.
Among the many wives and harem women of Maharaja Patiala, there were foreign beauties as well.
The Maharaja married ten times. Apart from this, there were more than 300 concubines in his harem. There were many beautiful women in it, including many foreigners. The Maharaja produced 88 children. Whenever he went abroad, a large entourage accompanied him. He used to rent several floors of the most expensive hotels in London or Paris. He used to bear the entire expense himself.
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Had friendship with Hitler, convoy of 44 Rolls Royce cars
The Maharaja had many wonderful cars, out of which 44 were Rolls Royce. Even Hitler gifted a car to the Maharaja. Bhupinder Singh met Hitler during his visit to Berlin in 1935. It is said that Hitler was so impressed with the king that he gifted his Maybach car to the king. The Maharaja’s friendship with Hitler lasted for a long time.
![Bhupinder Singh of Patiala](https://images.AnyTV.com/ibnkhabar/uploads/2024/05/MixCollage-23-May-2024-07-04-PM-1813-2024-05-64cdbe87becbd60dc308fbede275fc9b.jpg)
Maharaja Bhupinder Singh was a cricket lover. He gave a lot of money to BCCI in the initial years.
The most expensive diamond necklace made in Paris
In 1929, another example of the king’s pomp and show came to light when he sent a chest full of precious stones, diamonds and jewellery to a jeweler in Paris. This necklace, which was prepared after almost 3 years of craftsmanship, created a lot of buzz. This necklace, worth 25 million dollars, is one of the most expensive jewellery in the country.
![Bhupinder Singh of Patiala](https://images.AnyTV.com/ibnkhabar/uploads/2024/05/MixCollage-23-May-2024-07-06-PM-1705-2024-05-19063efaaddaf5730e581f15b43f4b05.jpg)
Maharaja Patiala had many cars, including 44 Rolls Royce cars. But this is a Maybach car, which was gifted to him by Hitler.
The Maharaja also had a cricket team
Maharaja Patiala not only made a huge financial contribution at the time of formation of BCCI, but later he always helped the board. A part of Mumbai’s Brabourne Stadium was built with his contribution. He not only played for the Indian team but also played for the Marylebone Cricket Club i.e. MCC team. He was the first to invite British cricket coaches to India. He had his own cricket team, which used to play in the tournaments held in the country at that time, famous players of the country used to play in it, Lala Amarnath was also included in it.
Tags: BCCI Cricket, British Raj, patiala news, Rolls Royce
FIRST PUBLISHED : May 24, 2024, 08:00 IST