Pratap Singh Ju Deo

Pratap Singh Ju Deo was the Maharaja of Orchha (in Bundelkhand) from 1874 until his death in 1930.

Early life and family He was born on 3 July 1854 to Sujan Singh II. He married and had three children: two sons and a daughter. His eldest son, Bhagwant Singh, predeceased him in 1920. On this occasion, the British government sent Major A. Mayne to temporarily oversee the administration of the state. On 4 June 1874, Pratap took over the administration, and the British officer was withdrawn in May 1876. During the Indian famine of 1896–1897, he worked tirelessly to provide famine relief. At the Durbar of 1911, his grandsons, Vir Singh and Karan Singh, were selected to serve as pages to George V and Charles Hardinge, the Governor-General of India, respectively. His procession included a cavalry escort, richly caparisoned state horses, spearmen, mace-bearers, chhata , suraj-mukhi , pankha and bearers carrying Ganges water. He settled 217 villages, excavated 73 tanks, and dug 7,086 wells.

Titles, styles, salute and honours

Titles and styles In 1882, the Government of India conferred upon him the title of Sawai Bahadur and, in 1886, granted him the hereditary title of Saramad-i-Rajah-i-Bundelkhand. He also held the titles Bharat Dharma Ratnakar and Yog Vidya Vinod.

Salute As the ruler of Orchha, he was entitled to a fifteen-gun salute.

Honours He was appointed GCIE in 1898 and GCSI in 1906. The University of Oxford conferred upon him an honorary Doctorate of Civil Law in 1911.