Princess Amrit Kaur - Who Fought to Get Her Father's £2.6 Billion for 21 Years

The young princess who was left out of her father's royal fortune.

One of my favourite real life fairy tale.

One of India’s few remaining princesses, Amrit Kaur the eldest daughter of the late Maharaja Harinder Singh Brar of Faridkot, was cut off without a penny when a will leaving her father's £2.6 billion estate to a small group of her father's advisers was made public in the wake of his death in 1989. The princess was given nominal salary between £12 and £15 pounds a month.

Princess Amrit, as a little girl.

The late Maharaja crowned as a toddler and rich beyond imagination, falls into a deep depression in old age after losing his only son and heir Tikka in a motor accident. The Maharaja died aged 74 in 1989.

Late Maharaja and his wife, Maharani Narinder Kaur.

The late Maharaja and his wife, Maharani Narinder Kaur, liked to stay at the luxury Savoy hotel while shopping in London during holidays to England.

He left a vast fortune including Faridkot House in the heart of Delhi, Manimajra Fort in Faridkot, his mountain retreat at Mashobra, near the Viceroy's summer residence in the foothills of the Himalayas, and a fleet of vintage cars in properties in Shimla. He owned a number of Rolls-Royces, military cars and several Second World War aircraft which he kept at his 22-acre aerodrome.

The royal's two daughters will now inherit a vast fortune, including Faridkot House on Copernicus Marg in New Delhi

His three daughters, widow and elderly mother had expected to inherit his estate, instead they found, he had left a will giving it all to his army of staff and retainers through a trust established for their exclusive benefit. The daughters were given very small salaries of between £12 and £15 pounds a month.

The three surviving sisters launched a legal action to challenge the will in 1992, three years after their father’s death, which eventually took 21 years to resolve.

Princess Amrit with her late father The late Maharaja Sir Harinder Singh Brar

In 2013, a Chandigarh magistrate ruled that the sisters had been cheated out of their inheritance by their late father’s staff in collusion with local lawyers who forged a will several years before he died.

The princesses have inherited a £2.5 billion fortune after winning one of the country’s longest-running royal legal battles.

Princess Amrit kaur with her daughter Gurveen.

"My father was a very loving and caring man towards all of us,' she said. 'I knew he could never write such a foolish will." Amrit Kaur.

The late Maharaja Harinder Singh Brar, a senior officer who served in the Deccan Horse cavalry regiment, was regarded as one of the more astute of the former Indian royals who had managed to retain his wealth after India’s independence stripped them of their power.

Amrit Kaur with her husband Harpal Singh.

"It was a yearning for my father’s love that kept me going for 21 years to win the legal battle for inheritance. I could never believe that my father, who was a larger than life personality for me, although he was upset with my marriage against his wish, could disown me from the royal heritage of Faridkot. My fight was a mission to prove to myself that he loved me.” Princess Amrit Kaur.

Source: The Internet

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