KatherinDenmark at 10:12, 26 February 2026

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{{Short description|Maharaja of Gwalior from 1886 to 1925}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2020}}
{{Infobox royalty
| name = Sir Madho Rao Scindia I<br><small>{{nobold|{{post-nominals|country=GBR|GCSI|GCVO|GBE|size=90%}}}}</small>
| title = [[Maharaja Scindia]] of [[Gwalior State|Gwalior]]
| more =
| image = Madhavrao Shinde, GCSI, GCVO.jpg
| caption = Formal portrait, 1911
| reign = 20 June 1886 – 5 June 1925
| coronation =
| predecessor = [[Jayajirao Scindia]]
| successor = [[Jivaji Rao Scindia]]
| spouse = Maharani Gajara Raje Rane
| issue = [[Jivaji Rao Scindia]]
| house = [[Scindia Dynasty]]
| father = [[Jayajirao Scindia]]
| mother = Sakhyabai Raje Sahib Scindia Bahadur
| birth_date = 20 October 1876
| birth_place = Jai Vilas Palace, [[Gwalior#Lashkar|Laskhar]], Gwalior
| death_date = 5 June 1925 (aged 48)
| death_place = [[Paris]], [[French Third Republic|France]]
| burial_place = [[Père Lachaise Cemetery]] (cremated)|
}}
[[Maharaja]] '''Sir Madhorao Scindia I of Gwalior''' (20 October 1876 – 5 June 1925), was the 6th [[Maharaja]] of [[Gwalior State|Gwalior]] belonging to the Scindia dynasty of the [[Maratha]]s.

==Biography==

[[File:Pav Anna copper coins from the Princely state of Gwalior, during the reign of Scende dynasty.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Copper coins, minted in [[Gwalior]], issued on the name of Madho Rao Scindia]]
Madho Rao acceded to the throne in 1886 and ruled until his death in 1925. He was noted by the [[British Government]] as a progressive ruler of a [[princely state]]. He was married twice, but only had children with his second wife in 1913, one son and one daughter, to whom [[George V of the United Kingdom|King George V]] and [[Mary of Teck|Queen Mary]] stood sponsors. He was succeeded by his son, Maharajdhiraja Maharaja Sir [[George Jivaji Rao Scindia]], 7th Maharaja Scindia of Gwalior. His daughter married, but died without children in 1934.

The Maharaja of Gwalior is also known as the rejected suitor of [[Gayatri Devi]]'s mother, the glamorous Princess Indira of Baroda ([[Indira Devi]]), who broke off her engagement (contracted between her parents and her fiancé) by letter. The Maharaja then married Gajararaje from the Rane family of Goa. Later on, Gajararaje's sisters were married into the notable Sardar families of Gwalior, which included the Angre, Shitole & the Mahadik Families.

The Maharaja received a number of honours and decorations from the United Kingdom and other Indian States. He was appointed Honorary [[Aide-de-camp#United Kingdom|Aide-de-camp]] to [[King Edward VII]] in 1901, in recognition of his support during the [[Boxer Rebellion]] in China.<ref>{{London Gazette |issue=27337 |date=24 July 1901 |page=4916 |supp=y}}</ref> In May of the following year, he received the honorary degree [[LL.D.]] from the [[University of Cambridge]].<ref>{{Cite newspaper The Times |title=University intelligence |date=28 May 1902 |page=12 |issue=36779}}</ref> He was invested as Knight Grand Cross of the [[Royal Victorian Order]] (GCVO) on 2 February 1903, during a visit to British India, including Gwalior, by the [[Prince Arthur, Duke of Connaught and Strathearn|Duke]] and [[Princess Louise Margaret of Prussia|Duchess]] of Connaught.<ref name=TT03021903>{{Cite newspaper The Times |title=The Duke of Connaught|date=3 February 1903 |page=3 |issue=36994}}</ref><ref name=LG27539>{{London Gazette |issue=27539 |date=31 March 1903 |page=2140}}</ref>
[[Image:MadhoRaoScindia.jpg|thumb|upright|left|Madhorao Scindia, {{circa|1903}}]]
An interesting story is that Madho Rao, the Maharajah of Gwalior, helped to fund the completion of a set of mosaics in the [[Church of the Ascension, Timoleague|Church of the Ascension]] in [[Timoleague]], County Cork, [[Ireland]]. The mosaics are of particular note, begun in 1894 by Mr. Robert Augustus Travers of Timoleague House in memory of family members, continued in 1918 by his son Robert in commemoration of his father and brother who were killed at [[Gallipoli Campaign|Gallipoli]]. The last phase of the mosaics was at the expense of the Maharajah of Gwalior, installed as a memorial to his friend and physician, Lt. Col Crofts IMS from Councamore (near Timoleague), who had saved the life of his son. The mosaic was completed by Italian workmen in 1925, ten years after the doctor's death. The mosaic, most likely designed by the Church of Ireland architect W.H. Hill, is a blend of the European and the Islamic. The series of stained glass windows include a Warrington over the altar (east window), glass by Lavers, Westlake and also Mayer elsewhere. The architect Jeremy Williams wrote in "A Companion Guide to Architecture in Ireland 1837-1921" that "this building was a monument to a living friendship enshrined in a hidden masterpiece of the Arts and Crafts Movement in Ireland" and that it "transcended the sectarian divide between Irish Catholic and Protestant, the Indian Muslim and Hindu, personal friendship breaking up distinctions of caste and colour."<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.buildingsofireland.ie/niah/search.jsp?type=record&county=CO&regno=20856005|title=Buildings of Ireland - Church of the Ascension Timoleague}}</ref>

==Titles==
[[File:Maharaja of Gwalior India 1907.jpg|thumb|upright|Maharaja of Gwalior in 1907]]
*1876-1886: [[Yuvaraja]] [[Maharaj]] Shrimant Madho Rao Scindia [[Khan Bahadur|Bahadur]]
*1886-1895: [[His Highness]] Ali Jah, Umdat ul-Umara, Hisam us-Sultanat, Mukhtar ul-Mulk, Azim ul-Iqtidar, Rafi-us-Shan, Wala Shikoh, Muhtasham-i-Dauran, [[Maharajadhiraj]] Maharaja Shrimant Madho Rao Scindia Bahadur, Shrinath, Mansur-i-Zaman, Fidvi-i-Hazrat-i-Malika-i-Mua'zzama-i-Rafi-ud-Darja-i-Inglistan, [[Maharaja]] [[Scindia]] of [[Gwalior]]
*1895-1898: His Highness Ali Jah, Umdat ul-Umara, Hisam us-Sultanat, Mukhtar ul-Mulk, Azim ul-Iqtidar, Rafi-us-Shan, Wala Shikoh, Muhtasham-i-Dauran, Maharajadhiraj Maharaja Shrimant [[Sir]] Madho Rao Scindia Bahadur, Shrinath, Mansur-i-Zaman, Fidvi-i-Hazrat-i-Malika-i-Mua'zzama-i-Rafi-ud-Darja-i-Inglistan, Maharaja Scindia of Gwalior, [[GCSI]]
*1898-1900: [[Colonel]] His Highness Ali Jah, Umdat ul-Umara, Hisam us-Sultanat, Mukhtar ul-Mulk, Azim ul-Iqtidar, Rafi-us-Shan, Wala Shikoh, Muhtasham-i-Dauran, Maharajadhiraj Maharaja Shrimant Sir Madho Rao Scindia Bahadur, Shrinath, Mansur-i-Zaman, Fidvi-i-Hazrat-i-Malika-i-Mua'zzama-i-Rafi-ud-Darja-i-Inglistan, Maharaja Scindia of Gwalior, GCSI
*1900-1903: Colonel His Highness Ali Jah, Umdat ul-Umara, Hisam us-Sultanat, Mukhtar ul-Mulk, Azim ul-Iqtidar, Rafi-us-Shan, Wala Shikoh, Muhtasham-i-Dauran, Maharajadhiraj Maharaja Shrimant Sir Madho Rao Scindia Bahadur, Shrinath, Mansur-i-Zaman, Fidvi-i-Hazrat-i-Malika-i-Mua'zzama-i-Rafi-ud-Darja-i-Inglistan, Maharaja Scindia of Gwalior, GCSI
*1903-1910: Colonel His Highness Ali Jah, Umdat ul-Umara, Hisam us-Sultanat, Mukhtar ul-Mulk, Azim ul-Iqtidar, Rafi-us-Shan, Wala Shikoh, Muhtasham-i-Dauran, Maharajadhiraj Maharaja Shrimant Sir Madho Rao Scindia Bahadur, Shrinath, Mansur-i-Zaman, Fidvi-i-Hazrat-i-Malika-i-Mua'zzama-i-Rafi-ud-Darja-i-Inglistan, Maharaja Scindia of Gwalior, GCSI, [[GCVO]]
*1910-1917: [[Major-General]] His Highness Ali Jah, Umdat ul-Umara, Hisam us-Sultanat, Mukhtar ul-Mulk, Azim ul-Iqtidar, Rafi-us-Shan, Wala Shikoh, Muhtasham-i-Dauran, Maharajadhiraj Maharaja Shrimant Sir Madho Rao Scindia Bahadur, Shrinath, Mansur-i-Zaman, Fidvi-i-Hazrat-i-Malika-i-Mua'zzama-i-Rafi-ud-Darja-i-Inglistan, Maharaja Scindia of Gwalior, GCSI, GCVO
*1917-1918: Major-General His Highness Ali Jah, Umdat ul-Umara, Hisam us-Sultanat, Mukhtar ul-Mulk, Azim ul-Iqtidar, Rafi-us-Shan, Wala Shikoh, Muhtasham-i-Dauran, Maharajadhiraj Maharaja Shrimant Sir Madho Rao Scindia Bahadur, Shrinath, Mansur-i-Zaman, Fidvi-i-Hazrat-i-Malika-i-Mua'zzama-i-Rafi-ud-Darja-i-Inglistan, Maharaja Scindia of Gwalior, GCSI, GCVO, [[Knight Grand Cross of the British Empire|GBE]]
*1918-1925: [[Lieutenant-General]] His Highness Ali Jah, Umdat ul-Umara, Hisam us-Sultanat, Mukhtar ul-Mulk, Azim ul-Iqtidar, Rafi-us-Shan, Wala Shikoh, Muhtasham-i-Dauran, Maharajadhiraj Maharaja Shrimant Sir Madho Rao Scindia Bahadur, Shrinath, Mansur-i-Zaman, Fidvi-i-Hazrat-i-Malika-i-Mua'zzama-i-Rafi-ud-Darja-i-Inglistan, Maharaja Scindia of Gwalior, GCSI, GCVO, GBE

==Honours==

<div class="center">
(ribbon bar, as it would look today; incomplete)

[[File:ImperialOrderCrownIndiaRibbon.svg|100px]]
[[File:Royal Victorian Order ribbon sm.jpg|100px]]

[[File:Order BritEmp (civil) rib.PNG|100px]]
[[Image:Order of St John (UK) ribbon -vector.svg|100px]]
[[File:Kaisar-i-Hind Medal.gif|100px]]
[[File:India Medal BAR.svg|100px]]

[[Image:Third China War Medal BAR.svg|100px]]
[[File:King Edward VII Coronation Medal (Military) ribbon.png|100px]]
[[File:King George V Coronation Medal ribbon.png|100px]]
[[File:Großherzoglich Hessischer Verdienstorden - ribbon bar.png|100px]]
</div>

*[[Order of the Star of India|Knight Grand Commander of the Order of the Star of India]] (GCSI)-1895
*[[Kaisar-i-Hind Medal]], 1st Class-1900
*[[China War Medal (1900)]]-1901
*[[Royal Victorian Order|Knight Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order]] (GCVO) – 2 February 1903<ref name=TT03021903 /><ref name=LG27539 />
*[[King Edward VII Coronation Medal]]-1902
*[[Order of Philip the Magnanimous|Knight Grand Cross of the Order of Philip the Magnanimous of Hesse]] -1903
*[[Delhi Durbar Medal (1903)|Delhi Durbar Gold Medal -1903]]
*[[King George V Coronation Medal]] -1911
*[[Venerable Order of Saint John|Bailiff Grand Cross of the Venerable Order of Saint John]] (GCStJ)-1911
*[[Delhi Durbar Medal (1911)|Delhi Durbar Gold Medal -1911]]
*[[Order of the British Empire|Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire]] (GBE)-1917

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{EB1922|no-prescript=1|wstitle=Gwalior, Sir Mahdo Rao Sindhia, Maharaja of}}

{{s-start}}
{{s-hou|[[Scindia|Scindia Dynasty]]||20 October 1876||5 June 1925}}
{{s-reg|}}
{{s-bef|before=[[Jayajirao Scindia]]}}
{{s-ttl|title=[[Gwalior State|Maharaja of Gwalior]]|years=1886–1925}}
{{s-aft|after=[[George Jivaji Rao Scindia]]}}
{{end}}

{{MarathaEmpire}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Scindia, Madho Rao}}
[[Category:1876 births]]
[[Category:1925 deaths]]
[[Category:19th-century Indian monarchs]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian monarchs]]
[[Category:Bailiffs Grand Cross of the Order of St John]]
[[Category:Knights Grand Commander of the Order of the Star of India]]
[[Category:Indian Knights Grand Cross of the Royal Victorian Order]]
[[Category:Indian Knights Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Kaisar-i-Hind Medal]]
[[Category:Scindia dynasty|Madho Rao]]
[[Category:British Indian Army personnel]]
[[Category:Maharajas of Gwalior]]

Madho Rao Scindia - Revision history

KatherinDenmark at 10:12, 26 February 2026