Fairytale wedding for India royals

The maharaja of Mysore in southern India, Yaduveer Krishnadatta Chamaraja Wadiyar, has married princess Trishika Kumari at the royal palace.

Ms Kumari is the daughter of the maharaja of Dungarpur in the northern state of Rajasthan.

"They knew each other for years, they were childhood friends," Yaduveer's father Swaroopanand Urs told BBC Hindi.

About 1,000 guests witnessed the elaborate ceremony and a further 2,500 were invited to an evening reception.

They include Karnataka state Chief Minister K Siddaramaiah.

The centuries-old wedding traditions involving the royal family took place at Mysore's City Palace.

Yaduveer, 24, was crowned the new maharaja of Mysore, the titular head of the 600-year-old Wadiyar dynasty, in May last year after the death of his grand uncle Maharaja Srikantadatta Narasimharaja Wadiyar.

Srikantadatta Wadiyar, who died in December 2013, was childless and did not name an heir, but his widow Pramodadevi Wadiyar adopted Yaduveer Gopalraj Urs, a relative, to ensure continuity.

Yaduveer's grandaunt, Kamashidevi, said: "It was a typical south Indian Mysorean wedding. There was a small pooja [religious ritual] for the bride before the wedding ceremony began. Normally, in our families, the girl adapts to the traditions of the boy's family."

The couple are the custodian of more than 1,500 acres of land spread across the south Indian cities of Mysore, Bangalore, Hassan, Channapatna and other places in the state of Karnataka.

The CEO of Mysore Palace, M Lakhsminarayana, declined to comment on the cost of the wedding, but added that "there was no extravagance".

Another reception will be held on Saturday in Bangalore, the capital of Karnataka state.

India's royalty lost their official powers when the nation gained independence in 1947 but the modern-day maharajas are still wealthy and influential.

All pictures by Anurag Basavaraj