Sir Rama Varma XIV KCSI

Order of the Star of India

The Most Exalted Order of the Star of India is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria in 1861. The Order includes members of three classes:# Knight Grand Commander # Knight Commander # Companion...

(1848–1888) was the ruler of the Kingdom of Cochin

Kingdom of Cochin

Kingdom of Cochin was a late medieval Hindu kingdom and later Princely State on the Malabar Coast, South India...

 from 1864 to 1888. He was the first Maharajah of Cochin to be knighted.

Reign

Rama Varma was an extremely weak monarch and was afflicted by illness throughout his reign. The administration was handled mostly by his Diwans of Prime Ministers T. Sankunni Menon

T. Sankunni Menon

Thottakattu Sankunni Menon CSI, also spelt as Shungoony Menon, was an Indian civil servant and administrator who served as the Diwan of the Cochin kingdom from 1860 to 1879. His administration is recognized as a period of development. Sankunni Menon's brother T...

 till 1879 and his brother Govinda Menon from 1879 onwards. Rama Varma attended upon the Prince of Wales

Prince of Wales

Prince of Wales is a title traditionally granted to the heir apparent to the reigning monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the 15 other independent Commonwealth realms...

 at Madras in 1876, during his visit to India. Rama Varma built the Puthen Bungalow and Mani Malika at Thripunithura.

Honours

In honour of his loyalty to the British Crown, Rama Varma was made a Knight Commander of the Order of the Star of India

Order of the Star of India

The Most Exalted Order of the Star of India is an order of chivalry founded by Queen Victoria in 1861. The Order includes members of three classes:# Knight Grand Commander # Knight Commander # Companion...

.