What are stories and facts about Nizam of Hyderabad ?

It means he should soon be able to afford a home far more palatial than his small two-bedroom apartment in Istanbul.

When the Prince of Wales, later King Edward VIII and, after his abdication, the Duke of Windsor visited him in 1922 he wanted to make sure he felt at home. So he arranged for his chamber pot lid to play the National Anthem when it opened.

But the Nizam's five surviving wives, one of whom is a former Miss Turkey, are also set to stake their claims on his remaining cash.India and Pakistan will share the rest of the Nizam's legacy.

An exquisite diamond necklace was gifted by him to Queen Elizabeth II; as a wedding present and the necklace is called the Nizam of Hyderabad necklace. It is one of the jewels in the Queen’s exquisite collection.

He was minted yet miserly, and left a family feuding over his fortune.
Perhaps the seventh Nizam is best summed up by a British politician's wife who visited him at his peak. Her description of him was "mad as a coot".

After the partition of India in 1947, the Nizam considered making Hyderabad join Pakistan.

The Nizam’s refusal to join the Indian in 1947 triggered the military action against him on September 18, 1948.

His Exalted Highness Rustam-i-Dauran, Arustu-i-Zaman, Wal Mamaluk, Asaf Jah VII, Muzaffarul- Mulk-Wal-Mumilak, Nizam-ul- Mulk, Nizam ud Daula Nawab Mir Sir Osman Ali Khan Bahadur, Sipah Saula, Fateh Jung, Nizam of Hyderabad and of Berar, Knight Grand Commander of the Most Exalted Order of the Star of India, Knight Grand Cross of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, Honorable General in the Army, Faithful Ally of the British Government.

Mir Osman Ali Khan, Asaf Jah VII continued to rule Hyderabad until the state was merged with the Union of India in 1948.

The Nizam's 173-piece jewellery collections, which was guarded by eunuchs during his lifetime, had an estimated worth of £2billion - but it was bought by the Indian government in 1995 for the knockdown price of £33m.

The Nizam signed the Instrument of Accession and the State was integrated into the Indian Union. Though deposed, he was allowed to stay on in Hyderabad wherein he accepted the position of Rajpramukh when the state government was established in 1950. He occupied this office till the formation of Andhra Pradesh in November 1956.

The most famous jewel in it is the sparkling Jacob diamond, the size of an ostrich egg that weighs 184.79 carats and is worth £50m.

The Nizam lent his support to the British during the second World War and remained faithful to the King of England.

The Nizam wrapped it in newspaper and used it as a paperweight. His collection, displayed in India last year under heavy armed guards, also included a beautiful seven-stringed pearl necklace, known as "satlada".

He had a fleet of 50 Rolls Royce cars, which included a Barker-Coach built Rolls Royce Silver Ghost acquired in 1912.

The last Nizam had a total of 14,718 employees when he died. In his main palace alone, there were about 3,000 Arab bodyguards, 28 people paid to fetch drinking water, 38 to dust chandeliers, several specifically to grind walnuts and others whose job was to prepare addictive betel nuts for him to chew.

His collection of pearls alone could fill up an Olympic size swimming pool.

He is reported to have found the Jacob Diamond -which is the world’s fifth largest diamond- in the toe of one of his late father’s shoes.

The Nizam’s 173-piece jewellery collection had an estimated worth of £200 million but it was bought by the Indian government in 1995 for a low price of £33m.

His official Title was – Rustam-i-Dauran, Arustu-i-Zaman, Wal Mamaluk, Asaf Jah VII, Muzaffarul- Mulk-Wal-Mumilak, Nizam-ul- Mulk, Nizam ud Daula Nawab Mir Sir Osman Ali Khan Bahadur, Sipah Saula, Fateh Jung, Nizam of Hyderabad and of Berar, Knight Grand Commander of the Most Exalted Order of the Star of India, Knight Grand Cross of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire, Honorable General in the Army, Faithful Ally of the British Government. We wonder how it will fit on his Adhaar Card, if he were alive today…

Mir Osman Ali Khan, Asaf Jah VII was the world’s richest man in the 1930s and the 1940s, with a wealth of over $2 Billion. That was 2 percent of the entire American economy at that time!

He had 7 wives, countless concubines and mistresses, 34 legitimate children and countless illegitimate children.

The last Nizam was the ruler of India’s largest princely state – the size of Scotland and England combined.

The last Nizam took keen interest in the restoration of the then newly-discovered Ajanta and Ellora Caves at Aurangabad. He also initiated the Archaeology department of Hyderabad.

He knitted his own socks, wore the same patched clothes for months and borrowed cigarettes from his guests.