The Wodeyars whose roots trace back to Dv rak, Gujarats Yadava community came to Karnataka and settled in Mysore getting enthralled by its natural beauty. Starting with Yaduraya Wodeyar who founded the Wodeyar dynasty in 1399. the Yadavas ruled the area for around six centuries. He was first to build a palace within Mysores Old Fort in the 14th century, but that was dismantled and built several times later. Immediately after the death of Tipu Sultan in May 1799,. Maharaja Krishnaraja Wadiyar III made Mysore his capital and eventually came under the control of the British. The spelling of the royal name of the dynasty was changed to Wadiyar from Wodeyar by his successors.
In 1897 the wooden palace was destroyed by fire while the wedding ceremony of His Highness Rajarshi Krishnaraja Wodeyar IV’s eldest sister, Princess Jayalakshmi Ammani was taking place. That year itself the young monarch and his mother, Her Majesty Maharani Vani Vilas Sannidhna, regent of Mysore, delegated Lord Henry Irwin, a British architect, to construct a new palace. In 1912 the construction of the palace was completed at a cost of Rs. 4147913. It was expanded in 1940 under the rule of last Maharaja of the Kingdom of Mysore, Jayachamarajendra Wadiyar.
