The Indian Princely States (aka Native States or Princely India) were those states in the Indian subcontinent the British did not conquer but which were typically bound by treaty first to the East India Company and then to the British Crown. Many Indian princes consequently received ‘protected’ status, but this involved regular payments of tribute and/or concessions of territory.

The princely states varied greatly in size and at one time numbered up to 700 depending on the classification used. At first enjoying lucrative arrangements with Portuguese, French, and British traders (amongst others), many independent Indian rulers came to hold an ambiguous relationship with the ultimately dominant British East India Company (EIC). The EIC, and its successor from 1858, the British Crown, extracted wealth in return for military assistance and imposed its inspectors and foreign policy on native rulers. Many princes were left to rule as they always had done so that interference in internal affairs was often minimal. The princely states were merged into independent India or Pakistan after 1947, and their rulers were eventually pensioned off.