Princess, politician, and the last queen of Jaipur: On the anniversary of her birth, who was Gayatri Devi, the Maharani considered by Cecil Beaton to be one of the most beautiful women in the world?

Aged three, Princess Gayatri Devi snuck out of her family’s home in Knightsbridge to spend their fortune in Harrods on an entire bathtub full of toys. Later, she would escape the watchful eye of her maid to join her brother at Café de Paris and The 400 Club. By 11, she had shot her first panther,…