Palace of Rani Lakshmi Bai

While a number of buildings in Jhansi are associated with the life of Rani Laxmibai, one of the most prominent but
often ignored buildings is the Rani Mahal, where she lived from 1853 to 1857.
Located inside Jhansi city, it was in the Rani Mahal that Indian fighters approached the Rani and urged her to take
over the leadership of the Revolt in 1857. After they annexed Jhansi in 1853 under the Doctrine of Lapse, the British East India Company forced Rani Laxmibai to vacate the fort and move to the Raj Mahal in the old city. She lived here from 1853 to 1857. As a result, it came to be known as ‘Rani Mahal’. The most magnificent room in the building is the richly painted Durbar Hall on the first floor, where the Rani used to hold her court. It was here that the Rani met the famous British lawyer John Lang in 1854, for her legal battle against the British East India Company, after they annexed Jhansi. And it is here, during one of these meetings, that she is said to have exclaimed, “Main Apni Jhansi nahi doongi”