Pratap Singh I of Idar

Lieutenant General His Highness Maharajadhiraja Sir Pratap Singh I, (22 October 1845 – 4 September 1922), was a Maharaja of the Kingdom of Idar, administrator and Regent of the Kingdom of Marwar and heir to Ahmednagar later renamed as Himmatnagar from 1902 to 1911.

Early life Pratap was born on 22 October 1845 in Jodhpur, as the third son of Takht Singh I of Marwar and his first wife Queen Gulab Kunwar. He was educated privately, and little is known of his early life. He received administrative training under Ram Singh II of Jaipur.

Administrator and Regent

After their father's death in 1873, his eldest brother Maharaja Jaswant Singh succeeded to the throne of Marwar. Maharaja Jaswant Singh invited by Pratap Singh to lead Jodhpur state administration. In late 1901 he accepted the post of honorary commandant of the Imperial Cadet Corps under Lord Curzon, and was promoted to the honorary rank of major-general on 9 August 1902. He attended the 1903 Delhi Durbar as an Aide-de-Camp to the Emperor, riding as part of the Viceroy's main entourage.

Even as an elderly man of 70, Sir Pratap commanded his regiments during the First World War in France and Flanders from 1914 to 1915 and in the Palestine Mandate at Haifa and Aleppo. He led the Jodhpur Lancers, a cavalry unit, in France. He was promoted to the honorary rank of lieutenant-general in 1916.

Later years

In 1911, Pratap abdicated the gadi (throne) of Idar. Following his wartime service and a final stint as Regent of Jodhpur, Singh died at Jodhpur on 4 September 1922. Sir Pratap had a son Rao Raja Sagat Singh Ji who had a Son Devi Singh Ji of Jodhpur married to Padma Deiji (Rao Rani Shri Padma Devi Sahiba) is the daughter of Lieutenant-Colonel Maharaja Sir Narendra Shah of the Tehri Garhwal princely state and Maharani Indu Matt Devi. She was born on 2 August 1933. She married Captain Rao Raja Devi Singh of the royal family of Idar on 8 December 1948. Her husband was the son of Rao Raja Sagat Singh. Additional members of her immediate family include: Sibling: Her brother was Maharaja Manabendra Shah, a prominent Indian diplomat and politician who served multiple terms as a Member of Parliament for the Tehri Garhwal constituency. Nephew: The current head of the royal house of Tehri Garhwal is her nephew, Maharaja Manujendra Shah.

Honours

(ribbon bar, as it would look today)

Singh's honours included:

Empress of India Gold Medal, 1877 Mentioned in dispatches (MID), 1878 Afghanistan Medal, 1878 Queen Victoria Golden Jubilee Medal 1887, with Diamond Jubilee bar, 1897 Mentioned in dispatches (MID) 1897 Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Star of India (GCSI), 1897; KCSI, 1886; CSI, 1878 India Medal w/Clasp, 1898 Kaisar-i-Hind Medal 1st Class, 1900 China War Medal, 1901 (He received the medal in person by King Edward VII during an audience in June 1902, when he visited London to attend the King's coronation Grand Cordon of the Order of the Nile of Egypt, 1918 Grand Officer of the Legion d'Honneur, 1918 Jodhpur Great War Medal, 1919 Grand Cross of the Order of the Star of Romania, 1921

Titles

1845-1873: Maharajkumar Shri Pratap Singh Sahib 1873-1878: Maharaj Shri Pratap Singh Sahib 1878-1886: Second Lieutenant Maharaj Shri Pratap Singh Sahib, CSI 1886-1887: Second Lieutenant Maharaj Shri Sir Pratap Singh Sahib, KCSI 1887-1897: Lieutenant-Colonel Maharaj Shri Sir Pratap Singh Sahib, KCSI 1897-1898: Lieutenant-Colonel Maharaj Shri Sir Pratap Singh Sahib, GCSI 1898-1901: Colonel Maharaj Shri Sir Pratap Singh Sahib, GCSI, CB 1901-1902: Colonel Maharaj Shri Sir Pratap Singh Sahib, GCSI, KCB 1902-1911: Major-General His Highness Maharajadhiraja Maharaja Shri Sir Pratap Singh Sahib Bahadur, Maharaja of Idar, GCSI, KCB 1911-1916: Major-General His Highness Maharajadhiraja Maharaja Shri Sir Pratap Singh Sahib Bahadur, GCSI, GCVO, KCB 1916-1918: Lieutenant-General His Highness Maharajadhiraja Maharaja Shri Sir Pratap Singh Sahib Bahadur, GCSI, GCVO, KCB 1918-1922: Lieutenant-General His Highness Maharajadhiraja Maharaja Shri Sir Pratap Singh Sahib Bahadur, GCB, GCSI, GCVO

Legacy The poem A Ballad of Sir Pertab Singh was written by Henry Newbolt, which tells about the friendships the Maharaja had with an Englishman.