As the Netflix show The Royals, starring Ishaan Khatter and Bhumi Pednekar, became the talk of the town with its depiction of the lesser-known lifestyles of royalty in India, people are curious to find how the real royalty lives. Do they have lavish parties, are they always decked in luxury brands, do they live in palaces and whatnot? The show has put a spotlight on the royal families of India.
One such royal family is that of the Gaekwads in Vadodara. They are popular for owning the largest private home in India, and for their queen, Maharani Radhikaraje Gaekwad, who is considered the most progressive royal lady of the country. The family’s real-life palace outshines the reel-life palace shown in The Royals. English royalty’s Buckingham Palace also pales in comparison. Read on to learn more about the grand Lakshmi Vilas Palace of Maharani Radhikraje Gaekwad and her royal family.
Maharani Radhikaraje’s family ruled as the Maharajas of Baroda for over 250 years
As per a News24 report, Maharani Radhikaraje Gaekwad’s family ruled over the western princely state of Baroda, present-day Vadodara, from 1700 to 1947. They belonged to a Hindu Maratha family and ruled over the Maratha empire in those times. Reportedly, in British India, the Gaekwad’s kingdom was one of the most affluent and biggest princely states. In 1890, they also completed building the Lakshmi Vilas Palace in Vadodara at a cost of Rs. 6 million during those times.
