For my family, being royalty is secondary.

We plucked her out of our best-dressed list and took a closer look at a rising politician's cool, young wife. Verve gets an exclusive peek into the myriad worlds of Priyadarshini Raje Scindia, ebullient spouse of the newly-elected Jyotiraditya Scindia.

[Priya Raje Scindia: Groomed for a new role]

Today, in her parents' Breach Candy apartment on a hill, Priyadarshini Raje Scindia, 29, in her married avatar, has slipped her very-slim form into a pair of favourite Gap jeans and her dad's outsized white T-shirt. Plucked out of our best-dressed list, for a closer look, I wonder about the influences that have shaped her flair for style. A subtle childhood inspiration, she admits, was her mother, Asha Raje Gaekwad, who was never one for designer clothes or labels. She wore her own creations, saris like no one else possessed and always looked distinct and beautiful in whatever she wore.

The first time Priya donned anything designer, was her wedding sari by Pallavi Jaikishen, a far cry from the jeans that her father and maharaj of Baroda, Sangram Sinh Gaekwad, looks upon with innate disdain. A far cry from the simple chanderi and regal chiffon saris that she wore on the campaign trail, in Gwalior, with her husband, the new young political incumbent, Jyotiraditya Scindia.

Slipping easily into the role of New Age political wife, Priya epitomises a new breed of woman who delights in becoming a seamless part of her husband's life and work. Coolly in place at a Delhi soirée with finger foods being served by waiters from the Maurya or a casual Mumbai evening out with popcorn and beer. Equally at home in her husband's constituency, her head covered in deference to a prevailing purdah system, where the women finally found an ear to speak out to. And Priya listened, because, she maintains that, at the end of the day, it is the woman who has to feed her child and in-laws. "Also, I understood now why my husband was so passionate about reaching out to these people. For my family, being royalty is secondary.

And so 'best-dressed' does take on a new meaning and dimension in the case of the little princess. An ability to be facile about switching from traditional to modern, seamlessly as her life switches in an attempt to keep up with her husband's, be it Delhi or Gwalior. And, her own favourite look? "Jeans. I am embarrassed to say, jeans…."

Priya loves being in Gwalior with her two kids, Mahanaaryaman (8) and Ananya (2). And while her mother-in-law, she admits, would happily burn every pair of jeans that she has ever gotten into, Priya admires her and realises that you do not need to wear labels to be 'wonderful'.

Courses at Stanford, especially the one on museums, helped her understand her Gwalior inheritance better. And while historical artefacts quicken her pulse, heirlooms from both families leave her unmoved with the coldness of one born to all things lustrous. "My husband is my favourite heirloom," she says

Being married to a maharaja, a Harvard undergrad, a Stanford MBA, an investment banker with Morgan Stanley, now a political figure bringing a new world consultant approach to politics, could not be easy. The two, however, have much in common. They both love to entertain and maintain an open house for their friends. In royal tradition (Priya's father is a great cook and one of her earliest memories is of being perched on the kitchen counter with her brother, plates in hand, awaiting a variety of culinary delicacies) Priya enjoys cooking. Anything from a traditional meal to an open-air barbecue in their huge Delhi garden. Food is a big deal in their lives. Even her eight-year-old has learnt to savour a good plate of sushi, over McDonald's. "He is willing to try anything so long as I take the first bite."

And for her daughter, Priya has much in store. A work in progress - a journal of her thoughts and feelings - to be presented to her on her wedding day. That and a legacy of natural style and royal grace.