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The self-proclaimed royal family of Oudh was a family of three, Begum Wilayat Mahal, Ali "Cyrus" Raza, and Sakina Mahal who claimed to be descended from the rulers of the Oudh State in the 1970s. They lived in Malcha Mahal, a hunting lodge that dates back to the 14th century. The family's claim was disputed by many others, and on 22 November 2019, journalist Ellen Barry published an article in The New York Times claiming that the family had no royal connection and was in fact descended from the former Registrar of the University of Lucknow, Inayatullah Butt.

The Oudh State was a princely state, with a population of around five million people, in the Awadh region of North India until annexation by the British in 1856. The British seized the throne from the Nawab of Awadh, removing Ramzan Ali and forcing him to spend the rest of his life in Nepal in exile. He died in 1893, of poisoning. In 1981, The New York Times wrote that the British "never justified their seizure of Oudh legally."