Manvendra Singh Gohil: The Queer Prince Who Dared To Be Different
Royal families, be it anywhere, are known to have their own set of customs and traditions. Their rules govern their code of conduct, behaviour, and overall lifestyle. However, for one Indian prince, adhering to these rules was never an option. Manvendra Singh Gohil defied them, challenged these societal norms, and made history by being the first openly gay prince and a revered LGBTQ+ rights activist in India.
Born in Ajmer in 1965, Prince Manvendra, the 39th descendant of the Gohil dynasty, was raised with opulence and eminence. His father is the crown prince of the erstwhile princely state of Rajpipla, and his mother is Princess Rukmini Devi of Jaisalmer. However, by 1971, India had “de-recognized” royal families and ended the privy purse. The young prince’s father became a commoner, but the royals gracefully adjusted to this change. They turned their home, the Rajvant Palace in Rajpipla into a tourist resort and filming destination, which allowed them to live well.
Royal life and expectations
Growing up in the family, Prince Manvendra was raised with traditional and religious values. Although the family only shared royalty as an honorary title, their values remained deeply ingrained. Producing an heir was seen as an essential responsibility, and traditional beliefs often prioritised heterosexual marriages within aristocratic circles for continuing the bloodline. Subsequently, in January of 1991, the prince entered into an arranged marriage and wed Princess Chandrika Kumari of Jhabua, Madhya Pradesh.
However, according to the Prince himself, this marriage turned out to be a “total disaster”. The marriage was never consummated, and it started to fall apart. It took a toll on both of them, and the situation grew more distressing over time. As a result, he filed for divorce within a year of his marriage. Although the prince received marriage requests, he declined all of them. Unbeknownst to him, these events marked the beginning of his tumultuous journey of self-discovery.
For a couple of years, Prince Manvendra struggled with his sexuality. As homosexuality was taboo and illegal at the time, being a royal and navigating his sexual orientation caused him immense emotional turmoil. This culminated in the prince suffering a severe mental breakdown in 2002, which led to his hospitalisation.
During his time in a hospital, the mental health professionals informed the prince’s parents about his homosexuality. Unfortunately, their reaction wasn’t marked by support or understanding, but with a continual and desperate effort to change his sexuality. They even wanted to send him to the United States for electroshock and conversion therapy to be able to “cure” him. However, the American Psychiatric Association pointed out that homosexuality is not a disorder, which saved the prince from being subjected to such measures.
A Journey of Acceptance
Despite a lack of support, Prince Manvendra, through a journalist, decided to publicly came out in 2006. This proved to be the final straw for his family, who publicly disowned him to uphold societal expectations. He was met with massive public outrage, and more than 2,000 people burned his effigies, demanding he rescind his honorary title. Apart from this, he also received death threats.
Although his coming out journey was met with relentless backlash and disgrace, it also garnered the support of many from the LGBTQ+ community. He became a trailblazer for those who faced similar struggles and went on to feature on The Oprah Winfrey Show in 2007. This was a turning point for him, as he gained an international platform to shed light on the community. He also inaugurated the Euro Pride festival in Stockholm, Sweden in 2008.
In 2009, the prince met DeAndre Richardson, and the two quickly became friends. Their bond deepened over time, and they eventually found life partners in each other, leading to their marriage in 2013.
Over time, the prince’s father also came around and accepted his sexuality. Although this journey was difficult, his stance on his son shifted gradually. While the prince’s mother never came around, he reconciled with his father and now shares a good relationship with him.
Creating a Legacy
In 2000, Prince Manvendra founded the Lakshya Trust in his crusade for community empowerment and gender equity. Since then, this public charitable trust has been working on improving and advocating for the legal, psychological, social, spiritual, and health needs of sexual minorities in the state of Gujarat.
Lakshya’s primary aim is to spread widespread awareness and prevent HIV/AIDS among MSM (men who have sex with men) and the GBT (gay, bisexual, and transgender) community in three major cities of Gujarat, India—Vadodara, Surat, and Rajkot.
With a network of 11 drop-in centres across these cities, a team of over 179 peer educators, and a project staff of 83, Lakshya Trust stands as the largest community-based organisation serving the MSM population in both Gujarat and India.
Additionally, Prince Manvendra also served as a founding member of the Asia Pacific Coalition on Male Sexual Health, representing it from 2005 to 2009. He is also the ambassador consultant of the AIDS Healthcare Foundation.
In his royal establishment, Prince Manvendra and his husband also started to promote LGBTQ+ tourism, called Queer Bagh. Primarily aiming to be a retirement home for queer folks, the shelter is modeled after an American LGBTQ+ community centre. It offers free stays for people in exchange for volunteer work. It has been seminal in empowering people from the community and continues to do so today.
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