Former royal Gayatri Devi dies at 90 in Jaipur hospital

Charismatic former royal Rajmata Gayatri Devi, who had an eventful stint in politics and was jailed during the Emergency, died at a Jaipur hospital today following prolonged illness. She was 90.

Once listed among the 'World's Ten Most Beautiful Women' by Vogue magazine and a style icon during her time, Devi was the founder of the Swatantra Party and a member of India's third and fourth Lok Sabha.

She was admitted to Satokben Durlabh Memorial Hospital early this month and was discharged a few days ago, but was readmitted yesterday for chest infestion.

"She recovered from her gastrointestinal problems but yesterday, she was detected with a lung infection. Her condition deteriorated this morning and she succumbed to her
illness," Dr Subhash Kala, who was attending to her, said.

The London-born princess of Cooch Behar was the third maharani of Jaipur, from 1939 to 1970, after her marriage to Maharaja Sawai Man Singh II. She was later known as Rajmata or Queen Mother.

She entered active politics on an anti-Congress plank in 1962, when she founded the Swatantra Party in Rajasthan, and won a landslide victory from Jaipur Lok Sabha seat in 1962. She again emerged victorious in 1971. She was lodged in Delhi's Tihar Jail
during the Emergency.