Maharaj Devraj Singh, the young grandson of the late Rajmata Gayatri Devi may be contending with an embattled legacy but his charm and sincerity are his greatest assets.

Text: Prakash Bhandari

After being subjected to weeks of public speculation and controversies that must certainly not have been pleasant, Maharaj Devraj Singh is turning his attention to subjects close to his heart: water conservation and developing one of his properties in Rajasthan into a heritage resort.

The 28-year old Thai national (he is registered as a person of Indian origin) is not just another young entrepreneur testing the waters here. He is the grandson of the third wife of the late Maharaj Man Singh of Jaipur, the legendary Gayatri Devi. Thai princess Momrajawongse Priyanandana Rangsit married Gayatri Devi’s son, Maharaj Jagat Singh in London in 1978. Devraj’s sister Lalitya Kumari was born in 1979, while the Maharaj was born three years after the wedding. When his grandmother died recently, the Indian and international media profiled her life and times, and a number of celebrities paid rich tributes to her ageless beauty, her graciousness and her political and philanthropic activities. But an element of sordidness crept in when her legacy and will became a source of dispute and the media had a field day recording the various claims and controversies on it.

Gayatri Devi named her grandson and his sister, Lalitya Kumari, as her inheritors but the brother and sister are not out of the legal woods as yet since disputes over some of the late Rajmata’s properties still continue. While the full extent of her legacy is not publicly known, what is certain is that it includes a stake in the vast Rambagh Palace, Lily Pool, the Moti Doongri castle, many other properties and shares the rough estimates of which total around Rs 1,000 (one thousand) crores.