The last Indian king of the British Raj who went from being a fast car-loving playboy to a penniless pauper has died at the age of 94.

Brajraj Mahapatra once lived a life of luxury as the Raja of Tigiria in eastern India.

But by the end of his life he was relying on the kindness of villagers to bring him rice and lentils as he battled poverty - and insisted 'I don't regret a thing'.

The last Indian king of the British Raj who went from being a fast car-loving playboy to a penniless pauper has died at the age of 94

Previous life: Mahapatra used to live of life of luxury in his palace with 30 servants but was living in a hut in his final years

When he came to the throne in 1943 he was living in a palace with 30 servants and became known for his lavish lifestyle and had a fleet of 25 vintage cars.

But Indian independence had a dramatic effect on his way of life and he lost his state's tax revenues.

Instead he was given a privy purse of £130 pounds a year which did not support his glamorous outgoings.

And in 1960 he sold his palace to the government for the equivalent of £900 - insisting that it should be turned into a school.

In 1975, the late prime minister Indira Gandhi withdrew the last remaining royal privileges and he lost his annual income.

The former Raja, who was born in 1921, left his hometown to live with his brother, although in 1987 he returned to Tigiria.

Mahapatra (pictured two years ago) came to the throne in 1943 and was famous for his love of cars which included jeeps and Chevrolets

In 1975, the late prime minister Indira Gandhi withdrew the last remaining royal privileges and Mahapatra lost his annual income

The conditions inside his hut are a far cry from his playboy days when he used to enjoy luxury alcohol and cigarettes

He built a hut and started living in the small abode on his own. In 2013 it was reported that his wife was living just a kilometre away, but that the two have not met for decades.

It was a far cry from his once hedonistic lifestyle. The Daily Telegraph reports how he revealed his decadent way of life in an interview with the Indian Express in 2013.

He is quoted as saying: 'I would often visit Calcutta with my friend, the former king of Puri, and stay at the Majestic and Great Eastern Hotel there.

'I would drink to my heart’s content and have a good time. I liked Black Label, White Label and smoked 999 and State Express 555 brand of cigarettes. If a new car model came to the market, I had to buy it. I owned 25 cars and jeeps, including a Roadmaster, Chevrolet and a Packard. We had 30 servants.'

He was also said to be keen on big game hunting and claimed that he had shot 13 tigers and 28 leopards.

The Telegraph reports that his heavily forested kingdom was the smallest princely state in India.

Just a few of his remaining possessions hang off a makeshift bamboo rail inside the former king of Tigira's small hut

He built a hut and started living in the small abode on his own. In 2013 it was reported that his wife was living just a kilometre away, but that the two have not met for decades

Rulers built and maintained schools and were said to be lenient when it came to law and order.

Despite living in poverty, he revealed two years ago that he was not pining for his former life.

He told the Indian Express : 'Then I was the king. Now I am a pauper. But I have no regrets whatsoever.

'Do you think I would have been living so long if I were unhappy?'

Braraj Mahapatra died on November 30 and is survived by two daughters and three sons while another daughter predeceased him.

CARS, HORSES AND HUNTING: THE LAVISH LIFESTYLE OF AN INDIAN KING He was the fast-living Indian king who loved luxury cars, big game hunting and had a penchant for expensive cigarettes and alcohol. But while his lavish lifestyle became the stuff of legend in his Kingdom of Tigiria, eastern India, he was also know for his generosity - dispersing the fee he received for writing in magazines to the poor in his communities. Born in October 1921, Brajraj Khyatriya Birabara Champati Singh Mahapatra - to give him his full name - went on to take a diploma from Rajkumar College in Raipur in 1940. He married a princess of Sonepur, with whom he had six children but the pair later separated. Mahapatra came to the throne in 1943 and was famous for his love of cars which included jeeps and Chevrolets. There were more than 500 semi-autonomous princely states across colonial India. They were each permitted to keep hereditary rulers on the condition that they accepted the supremacy of the British monarchy. His ancestors had claimed Tigiria in 1246AD and it went on to become the smallest princely state in India at just 45 square miles. In 1947 Mahapatra merged his kingdom into the new republic amid intense pressure from the new government. He revealed in 2013 that he had signed the documents under the instructions of one of India's founding fathers, Vallabhbhai Patel. Indian independence had a dramatic effect on his way of life and he lost his state's tax revenue. He was given a privy purse of £130 pounds a year which did not support his glamorous outgoings. In 1960 he sold his palace to the government for the equivalent of £900 - insisting that it should be turned into a school. Fifteen years later prime minister Indira Gandhi withdrew the last remaining royal privileges and he lost his annual income. He returned to Tigiria and built a hut and started living in the small abode on his own. Mahapatra died on November 30. Advertisement



