Alwar State was a kingdom from 1770 to 1818 and a princely state under British rule from 1818 to 1947. Initially its capital was Macheri and then the city of Alwar. The nobility of Alwar State belonged to the Naruka branch of the Kachwaha dynasty. The kingdom was established by Naruka chief Rao Raja Pratap Singh in 1770 CE. Alwar State was one of the 19 princely states of former-Rajputana, which existed at the time of Indian Independence. The last reigning ruler, Maharaja Sir Tej Singh Prabhakar Bahadur, signed the accession to the Indian Union on 7 April 1949.