This Indian man booked a suite for his horse in…, purchased 10 Rolls-Royce cars in London to…, his name was…

Maharaja Jai Singh Prabhakar of Alwar walked into a Rolls-Royce showroom in Mayfair, London, but was insulted by the staff who mistook him for a commoner as the Maharaja was dressed in a humble attire. 

There are scores of interesting stories about Indian Kings and Queens of the past who possessed immense wealth, comparable to the entire GDP of some small nations. One such tale is the compelling account of the visit of Maharaja Jai Singh Prabhakar of Alwar to a Rolls-Royce showroom in London.

As the story goes, in the 1920s, Maharaja Jai Singh Prabhakar walked into a Rolls-Royce showroom in Mayfair, London, but was insulted by the staff who mistook him for a commoner as the Maharaja was dressed in a humble attire.

The Maharaja took the insult very personally, and to avenge the slight, returned to the showroom in his full royal splendor, accompanied by his regal entourage, and now the same staff who had turned him away, rushed to attend him. The Maharaja, to drive home the point about who he was, reportedly purchased ten Rolls-Royce cars from the showroom, paying for six in cash, and having the rest delivered back home to India.

Rolls-Royce cars as ‘kachra gaadis’

But the Maharaja’s odyssey of vengeance did not the end there, as he ordered the uber-expensive Rolls-Royce vehicles to be used as ‘kachra gaadis (garbage trucks)’, when they arrived in his princely state of Alwar.

Bewildered and amused by the spectacle of its luxury cars being used to ferry garbage, the British automaker went into damage-control mode, and sent a telegram to Maharaja Jai Singh Prabhakar, apologizing on behalf of their staff, and offered the Indian royal another fleet of Rolls-Royce cars as compensation.

Notably, while his vengeance on Rolls-Royce has become the stuff of legend, there’s another equally tale which is equally intriguing, if not more. According to the story, Maharaja Jai Singh Prabhakar once arranged a private train to transport his his favorite horse to Mumbai (then Bombay), where he later booked separate suites for himself and his horse at a five-star hotel.

Who was Maharaja Jai Singh Prabhakar?

Born on June 14 1882, Maharaja Jai Singh Prabhakar, formally known as Honorable Colonel. HH Raj Rajeshwar Bharat Dharma Prabhakar Maharaja Shri Sawai Sir Jai Singhji Veerendra Shiromani Dev Bahadur, was the only son and heir of Sir Mangal Singh Prabhakar Bahadur, the ruler of the erstwhile Princely State of Alwar in British India.

Educated at the prestigious Mayo College, Ajmer, in which his late father was the first to take admission, Prince Jai Singh ascended the throne after his father’s passing in 1892 at the tender age of 10.

The young ruler was known for oratory skills in English and spoke at various forums, including the Round Table Conference in London, with British politician Edwin Montagu once describing him as “the most brilliant Indian he met.”

In 1903, Lord Curzon, the then Viceroy of India, officially granted Sir Jai Singh complete ruling powers over the Princely state of Alwar, and his rule lasted for nearly three decades.

However, towards the end of his reign, the Maharaja was forced into exile by British after he sought help from them following an economic crisis in his kingdom that to a widespread agrarian revolt. The British help came at a steep cost as he was forced to essentially hand over the kingdom’s affairs to a British officer, and sent into exile to Paris, France, for 17 years.

The Maharaja’s story ended in tragedy as he passed away in Paris in 1937, merely four years after his exile to the French capital.