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In today’s world of designer bags, private yachts, personal jets, and influencers, it’s easy to assume we have seen the height of luxury. But long before curated Instagram feeds and hashtags, India’s royal families were living lives of splendour so extravagant that even modern billionaires would struggle to keep up.
Their wealth wasn’t just immense — it was imaginative. These were men and women who didn’t merely buy luxury; they created it. From turning a 185-carat diamond into a paperweight to organizing weddings for their dogs, the Maharajas and Maharanis of India made indulgence an art form.
Here’s a look into eight moments of royal excess that continue to dazzle history lovers even today.
1. The Nizam’s 185-Carat Jacob Diamond — A Paperweight for a King
When India’s Royals Lived Like Legends: The Dazzlingly Strange, Beautiful, and Utterly Extravagant Tales of a Forgotten Age of Luxury
Mir Osman Ali Khan, the seventh Nizam of Hyderabad, was once said to be wealthier than the British Crown. Among his many treasures lay the Jacob Diamond — a 185-carat masterpiece, one of the largest polished diamonds in the world. And what did the Nizam do with it? He used it as a paperweight on his desk.
Today, that very diamond, valued at around Rs 1,000 crore, rests safely inside the Reserve Bank of India’s vaults in Mumbai.
2. The Maharaja of Junagadh’s 800 Dogs — and Their Grand Wedding
Not Your Average Royals: How India’s Blue-Blooded Elite Spent Fortunes on Diamonds, Dogs, and Designer Dreams That Still Fascinate the World
Maharaja of Junagadh, Muhammad Mahabat Khan III's love for dogs was unmatched. His palace was home to more than 800 royal canines, each attended by their own caretaker and fed lavish meals.
When two of his favourite dogs were married, the Maharaja reportedly spent Rs 20 lakh on the ceremony — complete with decorated elephants, guests in attendance, and a royal banquet. The ultimate “paw-sh wedding,” if there ever was one.
3. Maharani Indira Devi’s 100 Ferragamo Heels — Fashion Royalty Personified
From Palaces to Paperweights: The Unbelievable True Stories of How Indian Royalty Redefined Wealth, Style, and Sheer Extravagance for Centuries
Long before Bollywood’s red carpets, there was Maharani Indira Devi of Cooch Behar, know as India’s original style icon. With her charm and impeccable taste, she once ordered over a hundred pairs of custom-made shoes from Italian designer Salvatore Ferragamo, many embellished with pearls and diamonds.
Her sense of glamour was so iconic that Ferragamo immortalised her in his memoirs. If Cinderella had competition, it was Indira Devi in a silk sari and Ferragamos.
4. The Maharaja of Jaipur’s Silver Vessels — For Holy Water Only
When Diamonds Became Paperweights and Dogs Had Weddings: Inside the Extravagant World of India’s Royals
When Maharaja Sawai Madho Singh II of Jaipur travelled to England, he refused to drink anything but the sacred waters of the Ganga. To ensure this, he commissioned two massive urns crafted entirely from sterling silver — melted down from 14,000 silver coins.
Each urn stood over five feet tall and remains listed in the Guinness World Records as the largest silver vessels ever made. If hydration had a royal version, this was it.
5. The Maharaja of Indore’s Private Railway Line
The Royals Who Redefined Luxury: 8 Lavish Tales from India’s Glittering Past
For the Maharaja of Indore, luxury wasn’t just about possessions — it was about convenience. Forget limousines; he built his own private railway line connecting his palaces, allowing him to glide from one royal estate to another in unmatched comfort. Efficiency, after all, is also a form of opulence.
6. The Maharaja of Gwalior’s Silver Train — Dinner with a Twist
Opulence, Eccentricity, and Pure Grandeur — The Untold Luxuries of India’s Blue-Blooded Elite
At the Gwalior palace, dinner parties were a spectacle. Maharaja Madho Rao Scindia had a silver miniature train running around his dining table, delivering cigars, drinks, and snacks to guests.
The sight of a tiny train puffing around serving whisky was not just a party trick — it was an unforgettable statement of style. It’s safe to say no dinner trolley since has come close.
7. The Patiala Necklace — Cartier’s Glittering Crown
Beyond Wealth: How India’s Maharajas and Maharanis Turned Life into a Spectacle of Style and Splendour
When Maharaja Bhupinder Singh of Patiala decided to commission jewellery, he didn’t hold back. Crafted by Cartier in 1928, his necklace boasted nearly 3,000 diamonds, including a colossal 234-carat yellow De Beers gem.
Valued at roughly Rs 250 crore today, the Patiala Necklace remains one of the most extravagant pieces of jewellery ever made — a symbol of royal audacity and aesthetic brilliance.
8. The Maharaja of Alwar’s Rolls Royce Revenge
Few tales blend pride and extravagance like that of the Maharaja of Alwar. During a visit to London, Rolls Royce staff allegedly mocked him, assuming he couldn’t afford their cars. Furious, the Maharaja returned in full regalia, bought six cars on the spot, shipped them to India, and repurposed them as garbage trucks.
It was an act of royal defiance so legendary that Rolls Royce later issued an apology. As they say, revenge is best served with a touch of silver — and horsepower.
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Eshita Bhargava is the Associate Editor at Times Now and ETNow.in, with over 12 years of dynamic experience across the media landscape. From launching... View More