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Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar

Born: July 18, 1919, Mysore, Karnataka, India

Died: September 23, 1974, Bangalore Palace, Bengaluru, Karnataka, India

Maharaja Sir Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar Bahadur, Maharaja of Mysore, aka Jaya Chamarajendra Wadiyar was the 25th and the last Maharaja of the princely state of Mysore from 1940 to 1950. He was a noted philosopher, musicologist, political thinker and philanthropist and the Founder-President of Vishva Hindu Parishad.

He was the only son of Yuvaraja Kanteerava Narasimharaja Wadiyar and Yuvarani Kempu Cheluvaja Amanni. Wadiyar dynasty is the only royal family from Mysore and belongs to the Lunar dynasty (Chandrvanshi Kshatriya lineage). He ascended the throne of the kingdom of Mysore on 8 September 1940 after the demise of his uncle, Maharaja Nalvadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar.

He was a connoisseur of both western and carnatic (South Indian classical) music and an acknowledged authority of Indian Philosophy. He became a Licentiate of the Guildhall School of Music, London and honorary fellow of Trinity College of Music, London, in 1945. He was also the first president of the Philharmonia Concert Society, London in 1948.

The Maharaja died at the age of 55 on 23 September 1974, and he was the last living premier prince of the Indian Empire with a 21-gun salute.

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