Regent, then Ruler
Sikandar Begum was the only child of Nazar Mahomed, Nawab of Bhopal, who "was accidentally shot on November 11, 1819, at Islamnaggar by his brother-in-law, Faujdar Mahomed Khan, a child about eight years of age," leaving "one child, the Sikandar Begum."
She was married in 1835 to Jehangir Mahomed Khan; her mother, "known as the Kudsiah Begum, seized him and kept him for some time in confinement" after the marriage "only increased" the family's differences. Jehangir Mahomed died on 9 December 1844, "leaving one daughter by the Sikandar Begum, the Shah Jehan Begum."
Faujdar Mahomed Khan, who had been appointed Regent for the minor heir, resigned in 1847, and "was succeeded in his appointment by the Sikandar Begum," who "evinced extraordinary administrative ability" and "gradually paid off the debts of the State."