Question

who rulled the princely state

Answer 1

princely states were in the control of British
so they were ruling the princely states
hope it helped u friend.

Answer 2

A princely state, also called native state (legally, under the British) or Indian state (for those states on the subcontinent), was a nominally sovereign monarchy under a local or regional ruler in a subsidiary alliance with a greater power. The British ruled India with two administrative systems: British Provinces and Indian "princely" states; about 60% of the territory of the Indian sub-continent were provinces and 40% were princely states.