Anita Delgado
Anita Delgado Briones (1890-1962) was a Spanish flamenco dancer and singer from Andalusia who achieved fame for having married the Indian Maharaja of Kapurthala, thus becoming a Maharani of Kapurthala.
Biography
She was born on February 8, 1890 in Málaga. The family emigrated to Madrid, where her beauty and that of her sister were welcomed. Painters Julio Romero de Torres and Ricardo Baroja asked that they model, but Anita refused being only 16.
During the marriage ceremony of king Alfonso XIII of Spain in Madrid, Jagatjit Singh Bahadur, the Maharaja of the princely state of Kapurthala watched her performances in a cafe-concert. He attempted to court her, but his approaches were rejected, and he left after the bombing of the royal couple (May 31, 1906). Later, however, her friends Romero de Torres, Ramón María del Valle-Inclán and Pastora Imperio convinced her to answer his messages and meet him in Paris. He had her educated (including in French) and married her on 28 January 1908. After a Sikh marriage in India, she changed her name to Maharani Prem Kaur.[1]
They later travelled in Europe and India, and she wrote a book about this time called "Impresiones de mis viajes a las Indias". She also gave the Maharaja a son, Maharajkumar Ajit Singh (born 26 April 1908, educated at Cambridge University and at the Military Academy, Dehra Dun. Assistant to the Indian Trade Commissioner in Argentina, died in 1982). During the first World War, her husband worked in Franco-British hospitals. They separated and Anita stayed in Paris with her son. She died on 7 July 1962 in Madrid.
In the media
A movie on Anita's life titled La princesa de Kapurthala starring the Spanish actress Penélope Cruz was slated to begin shooting in 2006. However a descendent of Jagatjit Singh, Shatrujit Singh, has opposed the filming since he considers that Javier Moro's novel on which it is based distorts truth, especially the allegations of the Maharajah forcing Anita to an abortion.[2]
Literature
- Elisa Vazquez de Gey. Anita Delgado. Maharani of Kapurthala. (1998) Editorial Planeta ISBN 84-226-8607-4
- Elisa Vazquez de Gey. The Maharanis’ Dream. (2005) Editorial Grijalbo ISBN 84-253-3961-8 and ISBN 978-84-8346-367-3
- Elisa Vazquez de Gey. The Princess of Kapurthala. (2008) Editorial Planeta ISBN 978-84-08-08262-0
- Javier Moro. Pasión india. (2005) Editorial Seix Barral ISBN 84-322-9663-5
- OCON DUEÑAS, Manuel: Anita Delgado. Ed. Arguval. 1986.
References
- ↑ Nash, Elizabeth (5 November 2007). "How to marry a maharaja". The Independent. Retrieved 1 October 2016.
- ↑ Las autoridades indias, contra Penélope Cruz.
External links
- The Kapurthala Princess (English site)
- La Princesa de Kapurthala ( Spanish site)
- Document in MP3 format with the radio podcast dedicated to the life of the Princess of Kapurthala, Anita Delgado by Radio Nacional de España ( RNE ).
A historic radio program with the participation, among others,of her biographer, Elisa Vazquez de Gey, Pío Caro Baroja and Commander Joaquín Díez del Corral. Includes testimonials from the RNE Documentary Fund as the voices of Alfonso XIII, Mohandas Gandhi, the baritone Vicente Ballester, Marshal Philippe Pétain and Georges Clemenceau. - Video documentary in Spanish about the life of Anita Delgado on Spanish TV RTVE web site.
- Works by or about Anita Delgado at Internet Archive