Every year, between the months of May and October, Maharani Gayatri Devi of Jaipur, transplants herself to her Codogan Garden home in London’s Kensington borough to escape the desert heat. Accompanied by a cook and a secretary, she spends her vacation with pals, parties and polo, a tradition unbroken for 40 years.

But this year, her vacation has been ruined by a family row.

Breaking her silence for the first time on the royal battle over assets control, Maharani Gayatri Devi of Jaipur said on Friday that she would abide by the will of her son, Jagat Singh.

“My son made a will, and I will stand by it,” she told The Indian Express over phone from London.

Her close aides say that she has little knowledge about legal issues: both Gayatri Devi and Jagat Singh are known to have gone on vacation, leaving signed blank papers with trusted aides.

But the Maharani’s latest statement may give a new turn to the current standoff over succession rights between her son Jagat Singh’s two children and her stepson, Prithviraj Singh, now before the Company Law Board.

Jagat Singh’s children from his estranged wife Ringsit, Devraj and Lalitya, have claimed ownership rights to Jai Mahal Palace in Jaipur, saying the property belonged to their father. Ringsit, who had divorced Jagat Singh in the mid-80s, had recently told the press that the will of her estranged husband is “forged.”

Currently, Prithviraj owns majority shares in Jai Mahal Palace, which was converted into a heritage hotel in 1986.

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