Upon the passing of his elder brother on 3 July 1929, Rameshwar Singh Bahadur succeeded to the title of Maharaja of Darbhanga, one of India’s wealthiest and most influential princely states. Within days, he placed an order befitting his new station: a tailored Rolls-Royce Phantom II. Delivered to Calcutta aboard the S.S. Mulberra, on 25 January 1930, the grand chassis originally wore an opulent open tourer body by Hooper & Co., lavishly equipped with every conceivable luxury, its original build sheet extending over three pages.

In 1935, seeking to modernize his prized motor car, the Maharaja commissioned a new body from Thrupp & Maberly. The result was a one-off four-door tourer of remarkable elegance, combining contemporary flair with the Maharaja’s favored features, including powerful 280-millimeter Grebel headlamps and cowl-mounted searchlights, both ideal for the dark India nights. The new design featured a polished swept cowl molding, gracefully skirted fenders, and a lowered roofline, imbuing the four-door tourer a uniquely sporting appearance.

So striking was its coachwork that the Rolls-Royce drew considerable attention from the British motoring press. The Autocar published photographs of it in January 1936 and a feature in Modern Motoring described it as “a striking new body.” A period image was later included in Lawrence Dalton’s definitive work Coachwork on Rolls-Royce.

The Phantom II remained in the Darbhanga collection for an extraordinary 38 years, until 1967, when it was sold and subsequently passed through several noted collections, including that of distinguished American enthusiast James Leake. In the 1990s it was treated to a mechanical restoration by leading specialists on both sides of the Atlantic, among them Frank Cooke’s Vintage Garage in Vermont and Sports Classics of Massachusetts. Following completion of the work, the car participated in numerous Rolls-Royce Owners’ Club tours throughout the United States and Canada, proving highly successful on the show field with multiple RROC National awards and other prestigious concours honors. In 2018 the Phantom II returned to the showfield at the prestigious Pebble Beach Concours d’Elegance, displayed along the famous 18th fairway with a selection of other noteworthy cars of Indian Royal provenance in the Motor Cars of the Raj class.

A proven and admired entrant in both touring and concours circles, this magnificent Phantom II remains, by any measure, a Rolls-Royce truly fit for royalty.