India s Magnificent Royal Palaces

For much of its history, India has been ruled by various royal dynasties, who have left behind a rich architectural legacy, including some of the largest and most spectacular palaces to be found anywhere in the world. Even as the region came under British rule in the 18th and 19th centuries, many of India's monarchs managed to retain their vast wealth, their nominal sovereignty, and a degree of control of the internal affairs of their territories. When India gained independence in 1947, these territories, known as the princely states, numbered in the hundreds, and made up 40% of the country's area and some 23% of its population. In the following decades, they were gradually dissolved, with the royal families losing their status as rulers in 1971. But their magnificent residences, built up over the course of centuries, still remain. In this video, we'll discover four of them, built in different styles and time periods. Located in Rajasthan in northwestern India, the kingdom of Mewar had grown into the most powerful state in the region by the early 1500s. But the arrival of the Mughals put it on the defensive. In 1559, the growing threat of invasion prompted its ruler, Maharana Uday Singh II, to found a new capital in a more secure location. Legend has it that while hunting one day in the hills around Lake Pichola, he happened to meet a hermit who blessed the king and advised him to build a palace on the spot, assuring him that it would be well protected. Trusting the hermit, he had the palace built, and around it grew the new capital, named Udaipur after the king. The Udaipur City Palace was gradually extended by successors over a period of 400 years, growing into a vast complex containing four major and several minor palaces. Built in a fusion of Mughal and Rajput architecture, its many parts are unified by the consistent use of marble and granite as building materials. Entry to the complex is provided by beautiful ornamental gateways, like the Tripolia Gate reached from the north. Inside, the palace is a maze of courtyards, some large and once used for public gatherings and elephant fights, as well as smaller, intricately decorated ones for the Maharana's personal use. Its many balconies as well as towers and cupolas provide excellent views of the city and of Lake Petchola, on the islands of which the Maharanas built a number of adjacent palaces and pavilions. These include the Jagmandir Palace, once home to the prince who went on to become Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan, and the Lake Palace, which is built entirely of white marble, and almost appears to be floating on the water. There is also the Monsoon Palace, overlooking the lake and city from 340 meters above, and built in the 19th century to serve the dual purpose of a royal retreat and an astronomical observatory to keep track of the movement of monsoon clouds. Completed in 1890, the enormous Lakshmi Vilas Palace was built as the royal residence of the Maharajas of Baroda, in what is now the state of Gujarat. Designed by Major Charles Mant, the building mixes elements of traditional Mughal, Hindu, as well as Gothic architecture, and at four times the size of Buckingham Palace, it was reputed to have been the largest private residence in the world at the time. The building features an extravagantly decorated facade, and contains the Darbar Hall with its crystal chandeliers, golden ornament, and Italian mosaic floor. It was the height of luxury, not just in terms of decor, but also in its modern amenities, being outfitted with electricity, elevators, and telephones. The grounds surrounding the building were laid out by William Goldring, a specialist from Kew Gardens, and included both a zoo and a miniature railway line, used by the Maharaja to take his children to and from school. Unfortunately, the architect of the palace met a tragic end before the building was finished. It's said that he took his own life halfway through the project, when he realized that he had made a fatal mistake in his calculations, and that the palace could come crumbling down at any moment. Now, 130 years later, it's still standing, and is home to the royal family of Baroda. Falaknuma Palace was constructed between 1884 and 1893 in the capital of Hyderabad, the wealthiest and second-largest princely state in British India. But it wasn't originally made for its ruler, the Nizam. Instead, the palace was the project of Sir Vikar Al Amra, the state's Prime Minister. An avid traveller, he decided to build the Palladian-style residence after a visit to Europe, and named it Falaknuma, meaning Mirror of the Sky in Urdu. The English architect William Ward Merritt was brought in to design it, while Sir Vikar moved in early to supervise parts of its construction. Completed, the palace covers an area of over 90,000 square metres, containing 60 rooms and 22 halls. Among them are the state reception room decorated with frescoes, a dining hall able to seat 101 guests, and a library with a faithful replica of a carved walnut roof found in Windsor Castle. Falaknuma Palace wasn't home to Vikar Al Amra for long. In the spring of 1897, the 6th Nizam of Hyderabad, Mir Mahbub Ali Khan, was invited to stay here. He enjoyed the palace so much that he decided to extend his stay to a week, then a fortnight, and then a month. Finally, Sir Vikar simply offered the palace to the Nizam, who accepted, paying him a fraction of the cost it had taken to build. From then on, the building served as a state guesthouse, with a list of visitors including George V and Tsar Nicholas II. After falling into disuse in the mid-20th century, it was painstakingly restored over the span of 10 years, and reopened as a luxury hotel in 2010. Towering above the blue city of Jodhpur, Umaid Bhawan Palace was the last of India's great royal residences, completed just a few years before independence, in 1943. Commissioned by and named after the Maharaja of Jodhpur, Umaid Singh, the palace had begun to be built 15 years earlier, and was conceived as a response to economic hardship. Having faced severe drought and famine for three consecutive years in the 1920s, local farmers sought help from the Maharaja to provide them with employment. His solution? To build one of the largest palaces in the world. To serve the intended purpose, construction was carried out at a slow pace, and employed between 2,000 to 3,000 workers. The building was designed by Samuel Swinton Jacob, and bears a striking resemblance to the great government buildings of New Delhi. Like them, it's a combination of traditional Indian and British classical architecture, but also has a strong influence of art deco, giving it its stark lines. The Maharaja and his architect are also said to have been inspired by the temples of Burma, and by Angkor Wat. Built of sandstone, the palace is centered around an enormous dome, flanked by smaller towers. It contains several courtyards, gardens with beautiful views of the surrounding landscape, and as many as 347 rooms. Although parts of the palace have now been converted into a museum and a luxury hotel, it still serves as the principal residence of the Jodhpur royal family.