When the Delhi Durbars were held in 1903 and 1911, all the Rajas and Maharajas of India travelled to Delhi to pay their respects to the Crown. All, except the Maharana of Mewar, who did not attend these events to demonstrate his resistance against the British regime. Yet, decades later, when Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip visited Udaipur, in January 1961, to restore the British monarchy’s relationship with this royal house, Maharana Bhagwat Singh Mewar graciously welcomed them.
Even though the British couple was the guest of the government of India in official capacity, the royal family acted as the principal hosts. Recalling this moment, the current scion Mahendra Singh Mewar says, “My father, the late Maharana Bhagwat Singh, and our family, along with a great number of people of Udaipur, had the pleasure of welcoming the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh to our city in 1961. It is an occasion still very much in our thoughts.”
