Royal funeral marks end of India's aristocrat era

[Coventina]

Source: AFP

JAIPUR, India — India mourned Thursday a jet-setting princess who rubbed shoulders with British royalty, her death at the age of 90 severing one of the last links to a bygone era of aristocratic opulence.

The passing of Maharani Gayatri Devi "removes probably the last real queen of India", veteran commentator Amit Roy wrote in a tribute to the renowned beauty and socialite.

She was born into the nobility, and grew up in a palace staffed by 500 servants before marrying into the royal family of Jaipur in Rajasthan.

Devi became famous on the international social scene, chatting with Queen Elizabeth of Britain at polo games, dancing in nightclubs and presiding over palace life in Jaipur -- one of the princely states under British rule.

Read more: http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5hivGqpvn8pC1I6DIkyIWEuX0mbzQ

[varun]

1. who cares?

Indians are not obsessed with royalty.

[smitra]

4. Gayatri Devi's life is not that of a royal wastrel

She ran for a seat in the Indian parliament in 1962 and won it three times. She opposed Indira Gandhi's suspension of democratic rights in 1975 and was jailed for five months for that - the ostensible reason was tax evasion, but that was never proved. Despite the mention of her social life only in this article, it should be noted that she was also a pioneer of women's education in Jaipur, the state she was queen of. According to Wikipedia, she also revived and promoted the dying art of blue pottery.

[totodeinhere]

2. I do.

It's an interesting part of history.

[CBGLuthier]

3. that is interesting

Thank You for posting this.

[PassingFair]

5. Holy Crap! What a beautiful woman.

[proteus_lives]

6. Extremely beautiful!