There isn't a lot in hard books about Maharana Pratap's life, and a lot of on line source tend to repeat each other without any actual citations of where they got their information from.
Ajabde was the daughter of one of Pratap's vassal kings, and they married young. Frankly, given the strict purdah on princesses at the time, I can't imagine where this whole childhood friends thing has come from. Doubtless they knew each other, and after marriage she and his mother were Pratap's chief supports, and no doubt he loved her deeply, but I don't believe they were such "good childhood friends". As stated, princesses observed strict purdah, and even if Pratap was the reining Kings son, he would not have been allowed to mingle with the princesses as freely as he did on the show or as freely as posters here seem to think. Probably they knew each other and were aware of each other's admirable qualities. Marriages for Kings and Queens are made on politics, and this was also a move to consolidate the vassals under Pratap, as Udai Singh heavily favored his sons from his Bhatyani queen.
Regarding Amar Singh. Amar Sign was Pratap's first son, and so his heir. First sons are almost always considered heirs, and they are usually from the first wife (unless she is childless). In fact, this is why it was such a shock that Udai Singh wanted Jagmal to rule, and this is one of the reasons why the vassals and Pratap's ministers prevented him from doing so. The other reason was that he was hothead who was unfit to rule, and would have bowed to the Mughals. Ajabde was his Maharani because she was his Chief Queen, his First Queen and the mother of his heir. The title does not pass down after death- all his other queens would have remained Rani's.
Regarding Phool. All history books have to say about her is that she was a Princess of Marwar, and her lineage was a Suryavanshi one, which is the highest you can strive for- Pratap had a similar lineage, so they were matched in that regard. She was likely/more than likely a political marriage, done a few years possibly, after his marriage to Ajabde. She bore Pratap two sons, the first of whom was Chand Singh, who was also Pratap's second son. And I'm sure like his other queens, she was support to him after Ajabde's death.
In short, nothing in history says he loved Phool above all others pre or post Ajabde's death. However, there is the fact that she bore him two sons in close succesion with Ajabde, and her sons also inherited considerable amount of lands after Pratap's death. Whether this was Pratap's love for his sons, or Amar Singhs fondness for his brothers is anyone's guess.
In short, we know little to nothing about his relationship with his queens. In fact, based on the books I've read, I know more about his relationship with his horse!😊
Edited by apolloartemis - 11 years ago
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