3. Sita Devi of Baroda

May 12, 1917 to February 15, 1989
Probably one of the most colorful royals in Indian history was Maharani Sita Devi Sahib of Baroda, christened the 'Indian Wallis
Simpson'. This daughter of the Zamindar of Pithapuram married the Zamindar of Vayyur and bore him three children. But in 1943, she met and was smitten by Maharaja Pratap Singh Gaekwar of Baroda. Using legal loopholes and unmindful of the scandal it caused in those days, Sita Devi left her first husband and married the Maharaja, embarking upon a jet-setting life that saw her spend millions on shopping abroad, mingling with royalty from across the world and setting up a second home in Monte Carlo, Monaco.
In the years that followed, the royal couple were plagued with further controversy when it emerged that the Maharaja had taken several large interest-free loans from the Baroda treasury and helped himself to many of its most priceless jewels, bringing them to Monte Carlo and having their custody transferred to the Maharani. As a result of these indiscretions, Sita Devi and Gaekwar were deposed by the Indian Government in 1951 and their divorce followed soon after, in 1956. Despite the circumstances, Sita Devi still insisted on being referred to with her royal title; even her Rolls-Royce sported the armorial insignia of Baroda.
She lived the rest of her days in luxury, hobnobbing with her European upper-crust clique, but the last four years were fraught with grief following the suicide of her only son with Gaekwar.