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| Maybach once owned by Hitler, akshay-chavan.blogspot.com |
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| Patiala quarters,akshay-chavan.blogspot.com |
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| Maharaja Bhupinder Singh,Patiala, India.www.royalark.net |
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| Maharaja Bhupinder Singh,Patiala with his family. tribuneindia.com |
As a rich ruler, he did not waste his time ever boozing around and womanizing, just forgetting his responsibility as a ruler of a well-known state. But at the same, he actively got involved in every thing around him and the God had been kind to him. He was an Honorary Major-General in 1918 and Honorary Lieutenant-General in 1931. Besides, he had such honors like a representative of India at the League of Nations in 1925, a leader of the council of Indian Chamber of princes -1926 and 1938 and a member of The Round table Conference, etc. A multifaceted personality, he was the first to own an aircraft in India, Not even the Maharajah of Mysore or Indore or the Nizam of Hyderabad had an aircraft on their own. He was known for his extravagance and his passion for cricket and Polo. He was an excellent cricket player, played test as well as first class cricket matches and led the Indian team to England on a few occasions.
Equally sensational was his marital life. He out- smarted Casanova and had ten wives and innumerable concubines befitting his uncountable honors and medals. However, he was not a sucker for damsels. In all he had 88 children by various wives, of whom at least 53 survived. Being an avid collector of jewelry, valuable gem stones, antiques,etc., he was a proud owner of the world famous "Patiala Necklace." He had the special necklace designed and made for him and his family by the famous jeweler Cartier SA. The jewelry had lots of valuable diamonds and precious stones set in an impressive style. His wife Maharani Bakhtawar Kaur presented Queen Mary with a magnificent necklace on behalf of the Ladies of India during the Delhi Durbar of 1911 to mark the first visit to India by any Queen Empress. He was too much endowed with every thing in life an ordinary soul asked for. He had a slew of honors that can not be listed here.
Among the Indian Maharajahs and Princes, he was the only ruler to have met with famous Nazi leader Hitler. Adolf Hitler, the Fuhrer of Germany, was the author of Holocaust that resulted in the killing of several million innocent people, mostly Jews between 1941 and 1945. He was known to have used the German Classic car Maybach in the 1930s and had developed a taste for the Maybach company cars. When Maharajah Bhupinder Singh visited Germany in 1935, long before Holocaust, Hitler gave him audience. Very much impressed by the charming Maharajah, he asked him to stay as his guest for a few days.The Fuhrer surprisingly gifted his ceremonial car Maybach. The Maharajah was really taken aback by this expensive gift and he never thought that such an expensive and stylish car would decorate his vast garage back home.
Back in India, Hitler's car Maybach was in the Garage at his residence - Moti Bagh Palace along with other expensive cars including 27 Rolls Royce cars. After India's independence in August, 1947 and the abolition of special allowances from the government to the ex-Indian rulers, like many other Royal Families, the Patiala Royal family sold off their expense collection of jewellery, cars, antiques, lands, etc to adjust their life style. Having no choice, the car changed hand to his Indian garage keeper; the magnanimous ruler gave him as a free gift. Eventually the famous car went to a private collector in the USA.
Ref:
akshay-chavan.blogspot.com
