[4] Born into an elite Gohil dynasty, he was the son of the ruler of Rajpipla State, Chhatrasinhji Gambhirsinhji (1862-1915), via his first wife, Princess Wankanerwala Maharani Shri Phool Kunverba Sahiba.

[3][6] As Crown prince, he was educated at Rajkumar College, Rajkot, and subsequently became a member of the Imperial Cadet Corps in Dehradun.

[9] As his father's designated heir, he was expected to continue driving modernization within Rajpipla and maintain cordial relations with the Rewa Kantha Agency, and retain the kingdoms First-Class status within the Rewakantha Princely states of Gujarat.

[12] Throughout the next decade he enacted a series of administrative reforms, modernising his state, and invested heavily in various public health and infrastructure projects in India, such as a power plant, an aqueduct for drinking water and for irrigation throughout his territories, as well as the first roads and rail links.

[13] Under his rule, free primary and affordable secondary education were introduced, as well as a civil and criminal court and a pension system for public administrators.

He was notable for being the only Indian maharaja to meet President Warren G. Harding in Washington D.C.[17] By 1922 he was a highly popular socialite on an international level, as well as a racehorse owner.

[18] When not entertaining high society friends, such as the Aga Khan III and British aristocracy at his home in Old Windsor, Berkshire; a 27-roomed Victorian mansion purchased in 1922 and located on Church Road, he was active within the UK social season from April to August each year.

[21][22][3] His horse Embargo, won the Irish Derby in 1926;[23] the Grand Prix de Bruxelles in 1927 and the City and Suburban Handicap in Epsom, England.

[27] His most notable horse, trained by Marcus Marsh was Windsor Lad; with Charlie Smirke as jockey, were the 1934 winners of the Epsom Derby, in England.

He celebrated with a lavish party at the Savoy Hotel which featured a performing Indian elephant arrayed in his purple and cream racing colours.

[9] The British socialites referred to him as ‘Pip’, a name coined by his business associate, Martin H. Benson who acquired Windsor Lad during July 1934.

Their focus was to initially improve civil rights on the Indian subcontinent in areas subject to the rule of feudatory rulers, and sometimes also the British administration.

Even though he was politically and culturally allied to The Crown throughout his direct rule, he sensed the march of democracy, and endorsed some aspects of the nationalist movement in his own State in the 1940s.

His days as a hereditary ruler were numbered following the Government of India Act 1935, since the nationalist movement had sought for future decolonization and Indian self-rule leading to the Instrument of Accession.

He urged other Princely states to follow suit in the cause of a united nation at a meeting held at his Nepeansea Road residence in Mumbai.

He signed the instrument of accession on 19 March 1948 and his kingdom joined the Union of India on 10 June 1948, putting an end to the 600-year history of the independent state of Rajpipla.

[40] In accordance with Hindu tradition of his faith, his body was returned to his homeland and was subsequently cremated in Rampura, on the banks of the Narmada River.

His final wife was the Scottish actress, socialite and model, Ella Atherton, who when they were introduced, was considered to be one of the most beautiful women in the British Isles.

[44] A charismatic and likable personality widely known in a Royal circles in England, and a desired guest, London aristocrats craved tales from far away lands and he met their expectations.

[48][49] He eventually married Atherton, his long time companion at a ceremony on Devchhatra (Devastra) Hill an ancient fort in Rajpipla, on 5 January 1940.

[53] His personal wealth allowed him to continue to engage within European high society circles, attending racing days at Ascot and Epsom, and seasonal social events, including the summer circuit of charity events and gala evenings in the South of France; his last wife was photographed by paparazzi attending a gala evening at a casino in Deauville, France.

It was crafted by G. K. Mhatre (1879-1947), a pioneering sculptor of Pre-Independence India who attended Sir Jamsetjee Jeejebhoy School of Art.

[62] His 1934 Rolls-Royce Phantom II has survived and forms part of the Arvind Singh Mewar’s royal cars collection at Udaipur, and was featured in Octopussy, a 1983 British spy film and the thirteenth in the James Bond series.