When the prince of Rampur fell in love with an English actress, he lost everything when he married her

This is the story of the prince of Rampur state, who went to London to study. He lived a luxurious life. He even married the daughter of a rich English businessman but then somehow he fell in love with a theatre heroine. But after this, his life went off track because this marriage was not approved by the Rampur state.

The name of that beautiful English actress was Dolly Parnell. She came into the field of acting from a common background. She was very skilled in her work. Tickets to watch her shows were always full. She was gaining fame as a famous actress in London.

Nasir Ali Khan, the prince of Rampur, first saw her in 1907, when she was acting in a musical comedy ‘My Darling’ staged at the Globe Theatre in London. Nasir sent flowers to her dressing room and invited her for dinner that night. Nasir was charming and impeccable mannered.

Indian kings and nawabs were fond of European women
Corley Younger has narrated this entire story in her book Wicked Women of the Raj. It mentions how European women came close to Indian kings and nawabs during the British Raj. They became their wives and how their lives went on after that. However, the British Raj did not like such relationships at all.

What was the image of Indian kings in England then?
Dolly’s fans treated her very well. The Indian prince also treated the actress with such elegance that Dolly liked it. In those days, Indian kings and nawabs were very famous in London. It was believed that they lived a very luxurious life. They had a lot of money. Their life style was quite luxurious.

Actress Dolly started liking Rajkumar
If actress Dolly also thought that this prince of Rampur state would be from a rich family and he would have no dearth of wealth, then there was nothing wrong in it. So she started paying more attention to Prince Nasir. She started spending time with him. The relationship started blossoming and both of them started liking each other.

Theater actress Dolly Parnel with her daughter. Dolly married Prince Nasir of Rampur. And she continued this relationship till the end. However, this family later lived a simple life. (File photo)

Rampur was a rich princely state of North India
Now let us know about the Rampur princely state of North India, which was counted among the most prosperous princely states of the country during the British era. The 900 square mile Rampur princely state was ruled by Shia Muslims, who were given a 15-gun salute by the British. Nasir was the brother of Nawab Hamid Ali Khan of Rampur. Hamid was considered the leader of the Shias of North India, he was a learned ruler. He had the world’s best library of Arabic, Persian and Urdu manuscripts.

Good food was the Nawab’s weakness
It was famous about the Nawab of Rampur state that he was very fond of food. He had 90-100 cooks, each of whom was an expert in only one thing. He ate balanced but good food. Every day at 07.30 pm a new or tasty dish was served to him.

He was also known for his habit of spending most of the day in the bathroom, dispensing justice and advice from a toilet seat specially designed by his chief.

Symbolic photo (image generated by leonardo ai)

As soon as he turned 11, the Nawab sent his younger brother to England
When Nasir was eleven years old in 1984, Hamid sent him to England for his education. Hamid was also worried about his brother because if he stayed in India and grew up here, he could conspire with the dissidents in the state. Then he could prove to be a threat to him.

Nasir’s marriage was fixed with a rich English girl
Nasir was tall, dark and well built. He had many friends at Oxford University. Many female friends too. His teacher Masfield described Nasir as a wonderful person. In 1905, Nasir met Ethel Hodgkins, the daughter of a wealthy bric-a-brac and artware dealer on Bond Street in London. He fell in love. The couple got engaged. Ethel’s father gave his consent to the marriage. Ethel’s inheritance was then valued at a hundred thousand pounds. He arranged for his daughter’s marriage to Nasir on the condition that he would stay in London and give up his claim to the throne of Rampur. Nasir agreed to this.

Nasir and Dolly get married
But this engagement was broken when Dolly came into Nasir’s life. Nasir was completely infatuated with her. He fell in love with her with all his heart. Dolly and Nasir got married on 24 November 1909 at 12.30 pm at the registrar’s office in Marylebone Road, London.

Marriage happened without the consent of Rampur state
It was a quiet wedding, unlike the pomp and show of a royal wedding in India. The Rampur state was against this marriage. Nasir had done something unforgivable in his choice of marriage partner. Being orthodox Muslims, the Shia royal family of Rampur only allowed marriages between Shias of the same nobility. Dolly was not only a Christian but also an actress, which was completely wrong for the Rampur state. However, Dolly later tried to prove that her association with theatre was minimal.

Nasir did not have much wealth
As the prince of a wealthy state, Nasir was accustomed to a luxurious lifestyle, but his property in Rampur was modest. In total, three gardens, three houses, eleven shops and a part of Barwala village. The couple’s combined income was not enough to maintain their lavish European lifestyle. But Nasir did not want to work. He was brought up as a leisurely gentleman. By 1912, he also had a daughter to support.

Now even the new Nawab of Rampur has turned against him
Nasir begged his brother for money. Just before his death, Hamid Ali Khan named nephew Syed Raza Ali Khan as his successor. Nasir raised his voice against the injustice but could do nothing. Syed also believed that if Nasir returned to India, he would conspire against him, so it was impossible for Dolly and Nasir to stay in Rampur. They were clearly told not to return.

No new money helped
Nasir, who was going through a bad time, asked Syed for financial help. Syed showed no interest in helping his uncle. He was also cunning and full of weaknesses. Prostitutes and boys were the weakness of the Nawab. If his young male lovers did even the slightest thing to insult him, he would put them in jail.

When the new Nawab of Rampur fell in love with a married woman
The book says, once he fell in love with a beautiful married woman of his subjects. Syed asked her husband to divorce his wife and hand her over to him. He refused. The couple fled from Rampur but the Nawab’s henchmen caught them and put them in Rampur jail. Syed had servants to fulfill his every wish. He also had courtiers whose sole job was to take cigarettes out of his mouth. If any servant or advisor was unhappy with him, he was killed by giving chloroform.

Nasir’s life was again spent in poverty
Nasir, Dolly and their daughter tried to live a normal life away from wealth. At first the family lived in some area of ​​London and then moved to South France. There they lived a very simple life.

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