Udaipur has emerged as a top wedding destination, especially popular among celebrities. International stars like Priyanka Chopra and Nick Jonas celebrated their wedding at the luxurious Umaid Bhawan Palace.
The palace, which doubles as a hotel, boasts approximately 347 rooms, making it the largest private residence in the world. It is home to Shivranjani Raje, a royal entrepreneur who has revitalized her family’s heritage. She is the eldest child and only daughter of Gaj Singh II of Jodhpur.
For nearly two decades, Shivranjani has focused on expanding the family business, transforming historic forts and palaces into hotels and museums. When she joined, the family business faced significant financial challenges, compounded by her younger brother’s lengthy recovery from a severe polo accident.
Her father, Gaj Singh II, became the 29th Maharaja of Jodhpur after the passing of Maharaja Hanwant Singh in a plane crash, a role Gaj Singh II inherited at the young age of four.
Constructed in 1943 by Maharaja Umaid Singh, the Umaid Bhawan Palace has been an essential asset for Shivranjani in her efforts to secure the family’s legacy. She spent her early years in Trinidad and Tobago, where her father served as a diplomat, before returning to India at six. Shivranjani later studied Anthropology at Cambridge University in England and pursued a filmmaking course in New York.
