Sir Jagatjit Singh Sahib Bahadur was the ruling Maharaja of the princely state of Kapurthala in the British Empire of India from 1877 until his death in 1949. He ascended the throne of Kapurthala state on 16 October 1877. He assumed full ruling powers on 24 November 1890 and then commenced a career as a world traveller and Francophile. He was born into Alhuwalia Sandhu family. He received the title of Maharaja in 1911. He built palaces and gardens in the city of Kapurthala; his main palace Jagatjit Palace there was modelled on the Palace of Versailles. He also built a gurudwara at Sultanpur Lodhi, sacred to Guru Nanak. He served as the Indian Representative to the League of Nations General Assembly in Geneva in 1925, 1927, and 1929, attended the Round Table Conference in 1931 and was Lt Governor of the PEPSU at the time of his death in 1949, aged 76. He was cousin of Sardar Bhagat Singh, one of the few Indian Justices of High Court during the British Raj. His grandson Arun Singh was a Minister in the Rajiv Gandhi government.
Titles
His full name was: Major-GeneralHis HighnessFarzand-i-Dilband Rasikh-al-Iqtidad-i-Daulat-i-Inglishia, Raja-i-Rajagan, Maharaja Sir Jagatjit Singh Sahib Bahadur, Maharaja of Kapurthala, GCSI, GCIE, GBE. During his life he acquired many other titles:
1872–1877: TikkaRajaSri Jagatjit Singh Sahib Bahadur
1877–1897: His Highness Farzand-i-Dilband Rasikh-al-Iqtidad-i-Daulat-i-Inglishia, Raja-i-Rajagan, Raja Jagatjit Singh Sahib Bahadur, Raja of Kapurthala
1897–1911: His Highness Farzand-i-Dilband Rasikh-al-Iqtidad-i-Daulat-i-Inglishia, Raja-i-Rajagan, Raja Sir Jagatjit Singh Sahib Bahadur, Raja of Kapurthala, KCSI
1911–1918: His Highness Farzand-i-Dilband Rasikh-al-Iqtidad-i-Daulat-i-Inglishia, Raja-i-Rajagan, Maharaja Sir Jagatjit Singh Sahib Bahadur, Maharaja of Kapurthala, GCSI
1918–1921: Lieutenant-Colonel His Highness Farzand-i-Dilband Rasikh-al-Iqtidad-i-Daulat-i-Inglishia, Raja-i-Rajagan, Maharaja Sir Jagatjit Singh Sahib Bahadur, Maharaja of Kapurthala, GCSI
1921–1926: Lieutenant-Colonel His Highness Farzand-i-Dilband Rasikh-al-Iqtidad-i-Daulat-i-Inglishia, Raja-i-Rajagan, Maharaja Sir Jagatjit Singh Sahib Bahadur, Maharaja of Kapurthala, GCSI, GCIE
1926–1927: Colonel His Highness Farzand-i-Dilband Rasikh-al-Iqtidad-i-Daulat-i-Inglishia, Raja-i-Rajagan, Maharaja Sir Jagatjit Singh Sahib Bahadur, Maharaja of Kapurthala, GCSI, GCIE
1927–1943: Colonel His Highness Farzand-i-Dilband Rasikh-al-Iqtidad-i-Daulat-i-Inglishia, Raja-i-Rajagan, Maharaja Sir Jagatjit Singh Sahib Bahadur, Maharaja of Kapurthala, GCSI, GCIE, GBE
1943–1948: Brigadier His Highness Farzand-i-Dilband Rasikh-al-Iqtidad-i-Daulat-i-Inglishia, Raja-i-Rajagan, Maharaja Sir Jagatjit Singh Sahib Bahadur, Maharaja of Kapurthala, GCSI, GCIE, GBE
1948–1949: Major-General His Highness Farzand-i-Dilband Rasikh-al-Iqtidad-i-Daulat-i-Inglishia, Raja-i-Rajagan, Maharaja Sir Jagatjit Singh Sahib Bahadur, Maharaja of Kapurthala, GCSI, GCIE, GBE
Honours
This is list of the orders and medals awarded to Jagatjit Singh, in the same order as appears on the ribbon bar:
Singh married firstly at Paprola, on 16 April 1886, Maharani Harbans Kaur Sahiba, daughter of Mian Ranjit Singh Guleria of Paprola. They had one son.
Married secondly at Katoch, 1891, Rani Parvati Kaur Sahiba, daughter of a Sardar of Katoch. They had one son.
Married thirdly at Bashahr, 1892, Rani Lakshmi Kaur Sahiba, a Princess of a Rajput family from Bashahr. They had one son.
Married fourthly at Jubbal, 1895, Rani Kanari Sahiba, daughter of the Dewan of Jubbal. They had one son and one daughter.
Married fifthly at Paris, 28 January 1908, Rani Prem Kaur Sahiba ,. They had one son.
Married sixthly at Kapurthala, 1942, Rani Tara Devi Sahiba ; she was an actress, and the daughter of a Czech count and Nina Marie Grossupova.
In media
Probably as a reminiscence of his marriage with Anita Delgado, Don Pimpón, a character in the Spanish version of Sesame Street, claimed to have travelled the world extensively with "his friend the Maharaja of Kapurthala."
He appeared in the episode Orphans in a flashback where he gives Elsa Mars custody of Mahadevi "Ma Petite" Patel.
