Vijaya Mohana Muktamba Bai Ammani Raje Sahib Chhatrapati CI (1846 – 31 January 1885) or Vijaya Mohana Mutumbar Bai as per British records, was a member of the Marathi Bhonsle royal family who succeeded

Shivaji Shivaji Bhonsale I (; 19 February 1630 – 3 April 1680), also referred to as Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, was an Indian ruler and a member of the Bhonsle Maratha clan. Shivaji carved out his own independent kingdom from the declining Adils ...

as the ruler of the princely state of Tanjore. However, her position was purely titular and apart from customary privileges, she had little authority.

Early life

Vijaya Bai was the second daughter of

, the last Maratha ruler of Tanjore and Kamakshi Bai, the queen of Tanjore and was born in 1846. She became the heir-apparent on the death of her elder sister Rajasa Boje Ammanee Rajur Bai.

Shivaji's death and British annexation of Tanjore

Shivaji died in 1855. In the absence of a natural male heir to the throne, Tanjore was annexed by the British East India Company as per the newly constituted Doctrine of Lapse. Nine-year-old Vijaya Bai assumed the title of Queen of Tanjore on 31 October 1855 after the British refused to recognise the claims of Serfoji III, an adopted son of Shivaji II, but she had little authority in the kingdom apart from certain customary privileges. The dispossessed queen fought an unsuccessful legal battle to get her authority restored.

Personal life

With the permission of the Madras government, Vijaya Bai married Sakharam Saheb, the prince of Kolhapur and the widower of Princess Rajur Bai in about 1859. She adopted Shambusinghji Rao.

Honours

Muktamba Bai was granted a personal salute of 13 guns on 8 December 1874. She was awarded the Prince of Wales' gold medal in 1876 and the

Empress of India Medal The Empress of India Medal, also referred to as KIH Medal, was a commemorative medal awarded to mark the occasion of the proclamation of Queen Victoria as Empress of India in 1877. It was the first wearable medal issued to mark a commemorative o ...

in gold in 1877. Muktamba Bai was appointed to the

Order of the Crown of India The Imperial Order of the Crown of India is an order in the Orders, decorations, and medals of the United Kingdom, British honours system. The Order was established by Queen Victoria when she became Emperor of India, Empress of India in 1878. The ...

in the New Year Honours' List of 1878.

Notes

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bai, Vijaya Mohana Muktamba 1846 births 1885 deaths People of the Thanjavur Maratha kingdom