Diya Kumari Age, Caste, Husband, Family, Biography & More

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Hometown: Jaipur, Rajasthan

Age: 53 Years

Marital Status: Divorced

Bio/Wiki
Profession	Politician
Known for	Being the titular Princess of Jaipur
Physical Stats & More
Height (approx.)	in centimeters- 165 cm in meters- 1.65 m in feet & inches- 5’ 5”
Eye Colour	Dark Brown
Hair Colour	Black
Politics
Political Party	Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) (2013-Present)
Political Journey	• Joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on 10 September 2013 • Elected as an MLA from Madhopur in 2013 • Elected as an MP from Rajsamand 2019 • Won the 2023 Rajasthan Legislative Assembly elections from the Vidhyadhar Nagar constituency on the BJP ticket • Resigned as Lok Sabha MP on 6 December 2023
Personal Life
Date of Birth	30 January 1971 (Saturday)
Age (as of 2024)	53 Years
Birthplace	Jaipur, Rajasthan, India
Zodiac sign	Aquarius
Signature
Nationality	Indian
Hometown	Jaipur, Rajasthan, India
School	• Modern School, New Delhi • G.D. Somani Memorial School, Mumbai • Maharani Gayatri Devi Girls’ Public School, Jaipur
College/University	Parsons Art and Design School, London
Educational Qualification	A Fine Arts Decorative Painting Diploma (1989) ^[1]MyNeta
Religion	Hinduism
Caste	Kachhwaha Rajput ^[2]India Today
Food Habit	Non-vegetarian ^[3]The Times of India
Address	City Palace, Jaipur
Controversies	• Death Threats from Rajput Community Upon Marriage: Her marriage in 1997 outraged the Rajput community who sent death threats to her for marrying a man of the same gotra. Ironically, a Rajput leader of her husband’s namesake, Narendra Singh Rajwat, along with his henchmen, announced that he will blacken Diya and her husband's faces and send suicide squads for them. The Rajput leader also barged into Diya’s father’s office to protest her marriage and told her mother to adopt Islam to conduct the wedding. Kamlendra Singh, a henchman of Narendra Singh, threatened to kidnap the couple. One of the henchmen of Narendra Singh insisted that the couple should remain celibate and not bear any children. ^[4]Rediff.com • Claiming to be Lord Rama’s Descendant: Diya made headlines in 2019 when she claimed to be a descendant of Lord Rama, citing that Jaipur’s throne is the capital of the descendants of Kush, the elder son of Lord Rama. She made these claims amid the Ayodhya dispute when the SC asked Ram Lalla’s lawyer if there were any alive descendants of Lord Rama present in Ayodhya or in the world. She presented a pamphlet in the court which listed the names of all the descendants of Lord Shri Ram's clan in sequential order. In the pamphlet, Maharaja Bhawani Singh (Diya Kumari's father) was listed as the 307th descendant. Apart from that, there were 2 maps and 9 documents from Pothikhana to support her claim. ^[5]The New Indian Express • Demanding the Ownership of the Taj Mahal: She stirred controversy in 2022 by claiming that the land on which the Taj Mahal was constructed originally belonged to Jaipur's ruler Jai Singh and that it was captured by Shah Jahan. She said, "This was the land of our royal family and Shah Jahan had occupied it. At that time the government belonged to him. I have heard that he was compensated in return, but at that time there was no law to appeal against him or do anything against him." She asserted that she can present documents to prove her family's claim on the land. Furthermore, she filed a petition before the Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court demanding an inquiry into the history of the Taj Mahal and a re-opening of its 22 rooms to reveal their contents, which she claims to be Hindu idols. However, the court rejected her petition. ^[6]The New Indian Express
Relationships & More
Marital Status	Divorced
Affairs/Boyfriends	Narendra Singh Rajawat (1989-1997)
Marriage Date	6 August 1997
Marriage Place	Maharani Bagh, New Delhi
Family
Husband/Spouse	Narendra Singh Rajawat (chartered accountant, owner of a construction business) (1997-2018)
Children	Son(s)- Padmanabh Singh (titular Maharajah of Jaipur), Lakshya Raj Prakash Singh (titular Maharajah of Sirmaur) Daughter- Gauravi Kumari (general secretary of the Princess Diya Kumari Foundation (PDKF)) (image in Husband/Spouse section)
Parents	Father- Bhawani Singh (deceased) (titular Maharaja of Jaipur, Entrepreneur, Indian Army Officer) Mother- Padmini Devi (titular Rajmata of Jaipur)
Siblings	Diya Kumari is the only child of her parents.
Others	Grandfather- Man Singh II (former Maharaja of Jaipur, Rajpramukh (Governor) of Rajasthan (1949-1956), Ambassador of India to Spain (1965 – 1970), a notable polo player) Grandmother- Marudhar Kunwar (former Maharani of Jaipur) Step-grandmother- Kishore Kunwar (former Maharani of Jaipur) Step-grandmother- Gayatri Devi (former Maharani of Jaipur, politician) Note: Diya Kumari’s grandfather, Man Singh II, had three wives, Marudhar Kunwar, Kishore Kunwar, and Gayatri Devi. Gayatri Devi has served as the MP from Jaipur for three consecutive terms (1962, 1967, and 1971).
Favourites
Food	Pasta, Chocolates, Laal maas
Actor	Irrfan Khan
Sport	Badminton
Music Genre	Sufi
Travel Destination(s)	New York, London, Canada
Money Factor
Assets/Properties	Movable Assets • Cash: Rs 92,740 • Deposits in Banks: Rs 2,36,11,943 • Bonds, Debentures and Shares in companies: Rs 12,49,56,519.20 • LIC or other insurance Policies: Rs 1,08,35,000 • Jewellery: Rs 64,88,421 Note: The given estimates of movable assets are according to the year 2019. It excludes the assets owned by her spouse and dependents. ^[7]MyNeta
Net Worth (as of 2019)	Rs. 16,59,84,623 Note: The given net worth does not include the net worth of her spouse and dependents. ^[8]MyNeta

Some Lesser Known Facts About Diya Kumari

Diya Kumari is an Indian princess, politician, socialite, and philanthropist. She is the granddaughter of Man Singh II, the last ruling Maharaja of the princely state of Jaipur during the British Raj in India (1922-1947). In 2013, she ventured into politics by joining the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Her father, Bhawani Singh, was decorated with the Maha Vir Chakra for gallantry in the Indo-Pakistan war of 1971. He ascended the throne of Jaipur in 1970 and held the title of Maharaja until the abolition of the princely order by Indira Gandhi in 1971. However, he remained generally honoured like other erstwhile rulers. He died in 2011 following multi-organ failure.

Diya Kumari’s mother, Padmini Devi, was the Princess of Sirmur, a princely state of British India in Himachal Pradesh. Padmini Devi’s father, Rajendra Prakash, had two wives Durga Devi (first) and Indira Devi (second). Padmini Devi is the daughter of Indira Devi.

While talking about her childhood in the column of a Hindi daily she revealed that despite belonging to the illustrious royal family of Jaipur she was groomed as an ordinary child by her father. She wrote,

My father was in army and in Delhi where he was posted he used to live in the army accommodation, which were not big and I lived and played with other army officers’ children. But I was groomed as a disciplined child and was never pampered and I never thought that I came from the royal stock and was a special person or child.”

Childhood picture of Diya Kumari with her parents

As a custodian of the royal inheritance, Princess Diya Kumari manages several properties, businesses, trusts, and schools of the royal family. She is the Secretary and trustee of the Maharaja Sawai Man Singh II Museum Trust and the Jaigarh Fort Charitable Trust. She runs three hotels, Rajmahal Palace (Jaipur), Hotel Lal Mahal Palace (Jaipur), and Hotel Jaipur House (Mount Abu). She also manages various ventures like Durga Diya Enterprises, the Baradari restaurant, museum shops at the City Palace, and the Ashok Club, an exclusive sports and recreational club. A committed educationist, she runs two prestigious schools in Jaipur, namely The Palace School and the Maharaja Sawai Bhawani Singh School. She is a patron of the heritage platform Royal Fables, an exposition that presents art, design and fashion by patrons who belong to Indian royal families. Royal Fables presents the Palace Atelier Collection developed by Diya Kumari. Apart from that, she is a prominent socialite of Jaipur whose presence is sought in almost every social gathering in the city.
Left to Right, Padmini Devi of Jaipur, Prince Charles, Princess Diya Kumari, Princess of Wales Lady Diana, Maharaja Sawai Bhawani Singh

Diya Kumari made acquaintance with Narendra Singh in 1989 when she was just 18. At that time, Rajiv Gandhi had asked Bhawani Singh to contest lok sabha elections from Jaipur. Narendra Singh’s father, Thakur Budh Singh, who hails from Madhopur, served as an aide to Bhawani Singh in his political campaign. Meanwhile, Narendra Singh, who was then undergoing training to become a chartered accountant, started working in the accounts department at the Sawai Man Singh Museum Trust to gain experience. Narendra worked there for three months during which he and Diya grew fond of each other. While talking about the same in an interview, Diya said,

It was certainly not love at first sight or anything like that in our case. I don’t believe in love at first sight. It was only after three months, when he left, that I realised I wanted to meet him more often. We would meet, whenever he was in Jaipur, at a common friend’s place. Upto this time it was just a very nice, strong friendship. It was only when I accompanied my parents on a trip abroad, when I missed him unbearably, that I realised things went deeper than a mere friendship. I wanted him to be with me always. That was when I realised how serious my feelings for him were.”
Her parents raged at her upon learning that she loved Narendra as he wasn’t a noble and was of the same gotra as Diya, which is Rajawat. Fearing the outrage of her parents and society, the two ended the relationship; however, they couldn’t stay away from each other and reconciled after six months. In 1994, Diya and Narendra secretly got via an Arya Samaj wedding ritual and later went on to register the marriage in court too. She kept the marriage hidden from her parents for the next two years. She disclosed her wedding to her mother in November 1996. Bhawani Singh learned about the marriage in January 1997. Consequently, Bhawani Singh solemnised Diya and Narendra’s marriage without much fanfare at his Maharani Bagh house in Delhi. Thereafter, the couple started living in the city palace. The marriage attracted the wrath of the Rajput community who started raising objections to the fact that Diya and Narendra belonged to the same gotra, Rajawat. In an interview, Diya clarified that despite the same title she and her husband were not related over generations. ^[9]Rediff.com She said,

My husband and I do belong to the same gotra — he is a Rajawat and my grand-father was adopted from a Rajawat thikana. But we are not blood-related. As for breaking tradition, yes, I do believe traditions must be followed and kept alive. But traditions cannot rule your life. They change with times. Having more than one wife was a Rajput tradition, but can anyone do it today? I honestly never imagined that they’d make such an issue of it all..”

Diya’s grandfather, Man Singh II, was a nobleman hailing from the township of Isarda, a chief of thikana of the Rajawat sub-clan of Rajput. Man Singh II was adopted by the ruling house of Jaipur. However, Man Singh II’s father, Thakur Sawai Singh, was adopted by also adopted by his father from a distant kinsman, which means that Man Singh II wasn’t a Rajawat by blood.

Reportedly, Narendra’s involvement in the affairs of the city palace was opposed by many senior staff members who complained against him to Maharaja Bhawani Singh. This led to a rift between Diya and Narendra following which Narendra shifted to a bungalow given to him by Maharaja for his parents. The separation was the talk of the town alleging that Narendra was facing humiliation at the hands of his wife and in-laws. Narendra and Diya lived separately for more than two years. During this time, children would meet him at an appointed place once a week. Finally, Diya reconciled with Narendra for the sake of the children and he returned to live in the palace.

Her elder son, Padmanabh Singh, was adopted by her father, Bhawani Singh, on 22 November 2002 to make him the heir apparent to the throne of Jaipur.
A picture from the adoption ceremony of Padmanabh Singh

Following the death of Bhawani Singh in 2011, Padmanabh Singh was unofficially installed as the Maharaja of Jaipur. At that time, Padmanabh Singh was only 12 years old. Therefore, Diya Kumari overlooked the affairs of the royal family on the behalf of her minor son.

In an interview, she revealed that Vasundhara Raje Scindia inspired her to join the BJP in 2013. She said,

I was definitely inspired by Vasundharaji who asked me to join the party. I would not like to be labelled as the representative of any community and I want to serve the community. I am joining politics to serve the people and not for any personal gains.”

Diya Kumari and Narendra Modi

A genuine vein of philanthropy has always existed in Diya Kumari. In 2013, she founded the Princess Diya Kumari Foundation (PDKF) which works toward the empowerment of the underprivileged. She is actively associated with several NGOs and charity organizations, including the Eye Bank Society of Rajasthan (EBSR) and Rays, an NGO that works for the welfare of HIV+ children. She oversees the work of Sawai Man Singh Prathmik Chikitsalya (also called SMS Trust), which provides free medical facilities and treatment to the poor and the needy.
Diya Kumari distributing school bags to the children in the Jawahar Nagar slum area in Jaipur under Princess Diya Kumari Foundation (PDKF)’s education initiative

She founded the Young Achiever in Education Award in her name to inspire the youth to outshine in the field of academics. The award is distributed annually in a ceremony organized in memory of her father.

Diya Kumari is a connoisseur of art and culture who extensively promotes the traditional arts, music, and dance of Jaipur. She enthusiastically maintains The Friends of Museum, which was founded by her father in the city palace with the aim to provide a platform for artists and craftsmen to showcase their skills and crafts which were on the verge of extinction. In 2013, she revived the 17th-century tradition of Gunijankhana in which the Jaipur Royal Family provided an institutional forum for singers, musicians, and dancers.

Diya Kumari was appointed as the Chairperson of Assocham’s Rajasthan Unit considering her contribution to the tourism and hospitality sector. Assocham (Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India) is a non-governmental organisation and advocacy group that represents the interests of trade and commerce in India. She actively advocated organic farming under ASSOCHAM’s programme in 2012.
She was appointed as Rajasthan State Government’s Ambassador for the “Save the Girl Child” campaign in 2014.

In January 2017, Amity University, Jaipur bestowed an honorary doctorate on Diya Kumari for her philanthropy and active role in heritage management.
Diya Kumari receiving an honorary doctorate from Amity University, Jaipur

In December 2018, after being married for 21 years, Diya Kumari and Narendra Singh filed for divorce under Section 13B (divorce by mutual consent) of the Hindu Marriage Act, 1955.