In 1911, H. H. Captain Ram Singh Lokendra Bahadur, the Maharaj Rana of Dholpur, KCIE (r. 1901–11) died at the early age of twenty-seven without leaving issue. The gaddi (throne) subsequently fell to Ram Singh's younger brother, Udai Bhan Singh, (r. 1911–54) who was then a minor. Two years later in 1913, Udai Bhan Singh was invested with full ruling powers. In most regards, this was an ordinary succession witnessed by the smooth and peaceful transfer of power. For the British, the short-lived reign of Ram Singh was a blessing in disguise, for he had proven to be something of a wastrel, while Udai Bhan Singh's interest in sport, politics, military and administrative duties reflected the more modernizing and liberalizing sensibilities long advocated by the Raj in its policy towards the princes.

But as is often the nature of dynastic politics, there was a second, hidden conflict, playing itself out behind the screens and lattices of the Dholpur zenana. At the heart of the matter was an unspecified amount of valuable jewellery, which had been in the keeping of the former ruler. Some believed that the jewellery belonged to the dowager Maharani Ripudaman Kaur, princess of the north Indian Sikh kingdom of Nabha; others, equally persuasive, argued that these were the state jewels and therefore the inalienable property of the Dholpur Darbar.