Indian royalty's tryst with luxury over the years

Delhi Durbar of 1903, an oil painting by Roderick Mackenzie

Rewa's Maharaja Raghuraj Singh, wearing the robe of the Most Exalted Order of the Star of India, an honour conferred on him in 1875 by the Prince of Wales

Wedding attire for women from the Awadh family in the mid-19th century

Maharani Suniti Devi of Cooch Behar in a gown of white satin, made by a French dressmaker. She wore the dress at the coronation of King Edward II in 1902

One of the eight Rolls-Royce Landaulettes outside Rolls-Royce's India Depot on Mayo Road, Bombay, 1911

Maharaja Sir Jitendra Narayan Bhup Bahadur of Cooch Behar, 1913

A mid-17th century sword (right) the hilt made of white nephrite jade, set with rubies, diamonds and emeralds in gold. The scabbard (left) has jade mounts

Repeater pocket watch, gold with enamel portrait of Maharaja Bhupinder Singh of Patiala, 1920

The 30,000 pounds dinner service in silver gilt, from Goldsmiths and Silversmiths Co, for Maharaja Bhupinder Singh, on the visit of Edward, Prince of Wales, to Patiala in 1921

Slippers (velvet with embroidery of metal thread), from Hellstern & Sons, for Maharaja Jagatjit Singh of Kapurthala in 1920

A Colt pistol (gold and ivory), made for Maharaja Umaid Singh of Jodhpur in 1943

Maharaja Umaid Singh of Jodhpur (second from right) with his brothers and sons at Croydon airport before their tour of Europe in 1938. Son Hanwant Singh (far left) succeeded him in 1947

Jaipur's Maharaja Man Singh II and Maharani Gayatri Devi with their 1939 Bentley two door saloon

Arvind Singh (centre) - the 76th custodian of the House of Mewar of Udaipur

Gaj Singh (right) descendant of the Jodhpur maharaja with son Shivraj at the Jodhpur fort, 2003. PHOTO: BANDEEP SINGH/www.indiatodayimages.com

Jyotiraditya Scindia, descendant of the Gwalior maharaja and currently Union Minister of State for Power, with wife Priyadarshani Raje at their wedding, 1994. PHOTO: PRASHANT PANJIAR/www.indiatodayimages.com

Karan Singh, descendant of the maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir with his wife, the late Yasho Rajya Lakshmi, 2006. PHOTO: RAVI S. SAHANI/www.indiatodayimages.com