Hari Niwas Palace, Jammu, built by Maharajah Hari Singh Witnessed Ruler's Chequered period

Hari Nivas Palace, Jammu,tripadvisor.cs

Hari Niwas Palace, Jammu. India. hariniwaspalace.in

Hari Niwas Palace , JammuIndia.indiahotelplus

The Hari Niwas Palace is a  strikingly beautiful  building in Jammu overlooking the Tawi river valley on one side and Trikuta hills of the Vaishno Devi shrine on the other side. Built by Hari Singh, the last Maharajah of the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir (1895 - 1961) in the early 20th century. In 1903 when  he barely 13, Har Singh served as a page of honor to Lord Curzon during the greatest show on earth called Delhi Durbar in 1911 which was held in honor of King George V and Queen in which King George officially transferred the Capital of the British Raj from Kolkata (Calcutta) to Delhi.

Living before at Mubarak Mandi Palace, Maharajah Hari Singh  moved  over to Hari Nivas in 1925 where he had spent the last days of his stay in Kashmir, before shifting  to Bombay (now Mumbai). As per his will, his ashes were brought to Jammu and sprinkled  all over Jammu and Kashmir and immersed in the Tawi River at Jammu.

Maharajah Hari Singh(1895-1961). en.wikipedia.org/

An illustrious son of the soil, this secular king ruled the state for 22 years  and faced the toughest political situation after India had gained independence in August 1947. It was a period of instability and abrupt political changes  which he had never  foreseen. On 3 June 1947, control of the Gilgit Agency was transferred to the princely state of Jammu and Kashmir. The state's Maharaja, Hari Singh, appointed Brigadier Ghansara Singh to govern the area on his behalf. The Partition of India took place in August of that year, which divided the former British colony into a Hindu-majority India and a Muslim-majority Pakistan. On 22 October 1947, Pakistani suspected that the Maharaja had a plan to join the India with his Muslim-majority princely state to India This resulted in invasion  of Jammu and Kashmir  by Pashtun tribal militias from Pakistan. As Pakistani militias closed in on the capital of Srinagar by 26 October, Hari Singh had fled from the princely state and signed an instrument of accession for Jammu and Kashmir with India inclding Gilgit Agency including Baltistan. British military officer instigated Pakistan to take control of Gilgit -Baltistan.

However, with confidence Hari Singh  guided  the state  successfully through the most difficult period. The huge palace on a big plot of 50 acres of land, is an art-deco structure. The descendants of the maharajah converted the palace into a heritage hotel in 1990. Hari Niwas Palace is being  looked after by Maharaj Kumar Ajatshatru Singh and Kumarani Ritu Singh, grandson and daughter in law of Maharajah Hari Singh. On the grounds of the estate lies also the Amar Mahal Palace museum. Maharajah Hari Sigh was born in this palace. The Maharajah's 120kg ton throne is on display in the museum along with numerous, artifacts, etc relating to Jammu and Kashmir. 

 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hari_Niwas_Palace