One of India’s last great royal palaces and the private home of Maharaja Gaj Singh II, the iconic Umaid Bhawan Palace needs no introduction. This is where Priyanka Chopra tied the knot with Nick Jonas in 2018. On May 27, Curly Tales shared a video on YouTube showing the opulent interiors of the royal palace.
As one of the world’s largest private residences, the palace is divided into three sections: a royal residence, a luxury hotel, and a museum showcasing vintage cars, clocks, and hunting trophies. In the palace tour video, actors Dino Morea and Zoya Afroz explore its history and architectural grandeur. According to them, the structure was built in the 1920s to provide employment for 3,000 people during a severe drought in Jodhpur. Let’s take a step inside:
The royal home of Maharaja Gaj Singh II
Umaid Bhawan Palace, located in Jodhpur, was commissioned by Maharaja Umaid Singh. The construction was completed in a period of over 14 years, and the project cost approximately ₹1 crore, Dino shared. It was completed in 1943, making it the last royal palace built in India before independence. It is also considered India’s youngest royal palace complex.
Architecture and design
The palace was designed by British architect Henry Lanchester, who blended Indo-Saracenic aesthetics with Western structural logic. The construction used sandstone without using cement, and the stones of the palace were interlocked to allow natural air circulation. Moreover, makrana marble and teak wood were also used to keep the interiors naturally cool in the desert heat.
Additionally, the palace features significant Art Deco influences, particularly in the Palm Court area. The estate spans 26 acres, with 15 acres dedicated to lush gardens, home to many peacocks.
The palace is divided into three main sections: the Zanana (women’s wing), the Mardana (men’s wing), and the Royal Wing. The palace has over 300 rooms, and the chambers dedicated to the maharaja and maharani span over 4,850 sq ft. The Maharani’s Suite, designed for Maharani Badan Kanwar, features a soft pink tone, a single-cut pink marble bathtub, and a private kitchen with a direct lift for seamless service.
The palace remains the home of the royal family, with Maharaja Gaj Singh II and his family residing in the Zanana wing. It also includes a hidden bar disguised as a mirror, temperature-controlled swimming pools, and some of the earliest royal lifts.
Other key details of the palace are hunting trophies, vintage clocks, swords passed down in the royal family, royal costumes, paintings by Polish artist Stefan Norblin, a collection of vintage cars, including rare Rolls-Royce and Buick models, an African bull trophy, and a 9.6-foot-long elephant tusk.
