Maharaja Patiala was eager to marry a Spanish dancerMarried his father by paying huge money and made a foreign girl the queen.The Spanish Queen fell in love with the Maharaja’s eldest son Kamal.
When Maharaja Jagatjit of Patiala fell in love with a beautiful dancer girl during his trip to Spain, he married her by any means. Made her his fourth queen. The circumstances were such that this foreign queen fell in love with her elder brother Kamal, who was educated abroad. When their love started growing, news of it reached the king also. When he went to London with the Queen, he caught the Spanish Queen red-handed in the hotel there.
Before moving ahead in this story, let us know how Maharaja of Patiala fell in love with this Spanish dancer, who made the king crazy with her dance.
This is from 1906. Maharaja Patiala Jagatjit Singh found a dancer in a night club in Spain, who used to present programs there. charming. Intoxicating. Enchanting. The king felt lightning striking his heart with every movement of the dancer. The Maharaja was 34 years old at that time. The name of the dancer was Anita Delgado, age 17 years.
The Maharaja started meeting her. The Maharaja gave her expensive gifts. She also started loving the king. When the king proposed marriage, the dancer said that it would be difficult because this decision would be taken by her father.
Married a Spanish beauty by paying huge money
The father was a simple working man, who for the first time clearly told the Maharaja that he cannot marry his daughter to him under any circumstances. The king was disappointed but did not give up. The matter was settled in such a way that the king not only gave a lot of money to the father but also gave him other benefits. On this the dancer’s father agreed to the marriage.
Maharaja Jagatjit Singh, who married a Spanish dancer. When the father of this foreign girl refused to marry him, the Maharaja loaded him with wealth. (file photo)
The marriage first took place in the court in Spain and then the Maharaja brought her to India by making her his fifth queen. Here she started living in luxury. But because of her being a foreigner and also because of her beauty, other queens in the palace were jealous against the foreign queen. They also used to conspire together.
A foreign queen fell in love with the Maharaja’s eldest son.
In such a situation, Maharaja’s elder son Kamal started coming closer to him. Who always supported him and made him feel better by giving him emotional support. Gradually such a situation came that the queen started liking his company. The name of this beautiful tall son who studied in London was Kamal. The queen fell in love with him.
Maharaja started doubting
Although she was afraid of what the consequences would be, yet the love was not diminishing. Both of them started traveling together and meeting each other. Started searching for a place of love in solitude. When these news started reaching the Maharaja, of course he did not believe it but the seeds of doubt had already been sown.
The Maharaja married the Spanish beauty but when he brought her to the palace in Patiala, the queen slowly started feeling lonely. At such a time, her step-son Kamal came into her life, who was educated, intelligent and made her feel happy. (File photo)
This love was exposed in London. Where the Maharaja had gone with his Lavalashkar and the foreign queen. There he booked a hotel. When the Maharaja used to go somewhere abroad, he used to book the entire hotel. If this was not possible then at least two-three floors would have been booked.
then what happened in london
The Maharaja began to suspect that the Spanish Queen was not loyal to him. She also has another lover. This time in London, the Maharaja rented some floors of the hotel service. The Maharaja and the Maharani stayed in the luxurious suite on the upper floor. Both had separate bedrooms. A corridor in the middle connected the two bedrooms into a drawing room. A special servant of the king, Khushal Singh, used to sit outside and keep watch.
How did the queen start meeting her lover every night?
In those days, Kamal was also in London. The queen started meeting Kamal silently at night. She would quietly leave her room and go to another room in the hotel, where Kamal would be waiting for her. This thing was not hidden from the Maharaja’s servant Khushal. One night when Rani came out of the room, Khushal saw her. Immediately woke up the king and informed him. When the king saw the room, she was actually not there.
Maharaja caught the queen red handed
After this the king immediately called his officers from the rooms on the ground floor. At that time, Diwan Jarmani Das was also with the king’s Lavalashkar, who narrated this incident in his book. “King” Javier Moro also wrote about this incident in his book “Passion India” I wrote. When everyone sat in the Maharaja’s room and started waiting for the queen, after some time the queen arrived there in a night gown with her hair scattered.
Maharaja hesitated, insisted on divorce
The Maharaja woke up immediately. The Queen was repeatedly explaining that she had gone to her French mistress in the room below because she could not sleep. The Maharaja was not ready to accept this. He was adamant that Rani had gone to her lover in the rooms below. Even Rani’s crying seemed to have no effect on him. This drama continued throughout the night. The king decreed that he would now divorce his Spanish beauty queen.
Jinnah was in London then. He was also the Maharaja’s lawyer in many cases. He went to a London hotel to convince Maharaja Jagatjit Singh that his wife had not done anything that could raise suspicion on her, but the king was not ready to accept this. Jinnah got angry then. He then told the Maharaja like a professional lawyer that this divorce would cost him a lot.
Jinnah threatened to drag the Maharaja to court
The Maharaja said that the queen’s disappearance from her room at night was a big proof. Jinnah retorted and said that this was not a proof. If he wants to divorce then of course he should but give a hefty allowance to Rani. The Maharaja was not ready for this either. But the kind of arguments Jinnah gave and the threat of taking the king to the court made the king feel cold.
The king had to pay heavy compensation
Ultimately the Maharaja agreed to divorce and a special annual allowance. Jinnah got the Maharaja to prepare an annual allowance of Rs 36,000, which was a huge amount at that time. Also, an annual allowance of Rs 24,000 for Ajit Singh, the son of Anita, until he attains adulthood.
What happened to the queen later?
After this divorce, Rani’s relations with Kamal also ended. She had returned to Spain. Later she started living secretly with her secretary in Paris. According to the book by Javier Moro, the person whom she called her secretary was her lover and close friend. His name was Ginés Fernández de Segura. He was the husband of Anita’s cousin and was a widower when he came close to Anita. He was a stock broker and a well-educated person, who spoke many languages. Rani had a son Ajit. Later, when he grew up, he also died.
Tags: love, Love affair, love stories, Love Story, Patiala, royal wedding
FIRST PUBLISHED: May 21, 2024, 12:10 IST