Scandal as history

Zubrzycki's recent history is familiar ground for anyone with a passing interest in princely affairs but is, nevertheless, compelling

We grew up with possibly apocryphal but definitely slanderous stories of Gayatri Devi, who, it was rumoured, had snatched her mother’s love interest to marry Sawai Man Singh II, becoming Jaipur’s Third Her Highness in the bargain. While his senior maharanis drank themselves into oblivion, her own brothers fared little better. Racy gossip skittered around the edges of her chiffon sarees, her coiffed head of bobbed hair, and her lifestyle, while her contributions to the arts and education were swept under the carpet. Gayatri Devi was a diva who hobnobbed with Queen Elizabeth, Jackie Kennedy and Hollywood A-listers, the “tomboy”