The maharajas of India were undoubtedly one of the great anachronisms of the twentieth century. Among them were enlightened rulers and profligate princes, saints and scoundrels, heroes and cowards, sadists and boors, charmers and eccentrics. Yet, in the eyes of the people, they ruled as they had the divine right to do so. This power, coupled with their enormous wealth and fabulous jewellery, gave the maharajas a status that made them larger than life.

A comprehensive collection of historical photographs from princely India, private collections, and the finest photo libraries in the world, this is also the largest selection of royal pictures in any one book. Many years of research and documentation were put in to verify their details. The result is a book that conveys the romance that the maharajas represented to the world and a historical record of an age we will never see again.