Before Billionaires Bought Private Jets, This Maharaja Already Owned 3 Airplanes In 1910

More than a century before celebrity billionaires began flaunting private jets, Maharaja Bhupinder Singh of Patiala was already making aviation history. The extravagant ruler of the princely state of Patiala is widely believed to have become the first Indian and even the first Asian to privately own aircraft after purchasing three planes from Europe in 1910. 

According to aviation publication Simple Flying, the young Maharaja’s fascination with flying took off after French aviator Louis Blériot famously crossed the English Channel in 1909. Inspired by the feat, Bhupinder Singh reportedly sent his chief engineer to Europe to acquire aircraft for the Patiala royal fleet. The purchase is believed to have included two Henry Farman biplanes and a Blériot XI

monoplane.

Born in 1891 at the Moti Bagh Palace in Patiala, Bhupinder Singh of Patiala ascended the throne at just nine years old after the death of his father, Maharaja Rajinder Singh. Historians describe him as one of the wealthiest and most flamboyant royals of British India. 

The Maharaja’s lavish lifestyle became legendary in Europe and India alike. Reports from the era claim he travelled with a convoy of Rolls-Royce cars and dozens of attendants wearing pink turbans. He also maintained a garage of luxury vehicles and a stable of nearly 500 polo ponies. 

But aviation was more than just a hobby for the royal family of Patiala. The state later became associated with India’s early aviation movement. Indian pilot Man Mohan Singh, celebrated for his England-to-India flights in the 1930s, was eventually appointed as the Maharaja’s personal pilot. 

Despite owning aircraft, Bhupinder Singh himself was not known to fly them. During World War I, however, he served on the British General Staff in France, Belgium, Italy and Palestine, earning several honorary military titles and decorations

Today, the Maharaja remains one of the most fascinating figures of India’s royal era a cricket patron, luxury collector and aviation enthusiast who embraced flight years before it became mainstream in Asia.