Gayatri Devi
Gayatri Devi was the third Maharani of Jaipur from 1939 to 1970 through her marriage to HH Maharaja Sawai Man Singh II. She was Born on 23 May 1919 into the royal family of Cooch Behar, to the Crown Prince’s younnger brother Prince Jitendra Narayan and Princess Indira Devi of Vadodara/Baroda. Her father, Prince Jitendra Narayan of Cooch Behar, was the younger brother of the Yuvraja (Crown Prince). Her mother was Princess Indira Raje of Baroda, the only daughter of Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad III, an extremely beautiful princess and a legendary socialite. At the age of 19, she fell in love with Maharaja Sawai Man Singh of Jaipur (aka Jai). She was renowned for her beauty and elegance: she was once listed by Vogue as one of the world’s 10 most beautiful women.
Every year, between the months of May and October, Maharani Gayatri Devi of Jaipur, transplants herself to her Codogan Garden home in London’s Kensington borough to escape the desert heat. Accompanied by a cook and a secretary, she spends her vacation with pals, parties and polo, a tradition unbroken for 40 years. Gayatri Devi was admitted to the Santokba Durlabhji Memorial Hospital (SDMH) here on July 17. She died on July 29, 2009 in Jaipur, at the age of 90. She was suffering from paralytic ileus and lung infection.