The Gay Prince of Rajpipla – Manvendra Singh Gohil

Growing up in the Rajpipla royal family, Prince Manvendra Singh Gohil learnt early that life came with expectations. "Being raised in a royal family was very difficult for me to come out because there were a lot of expectations and protocols to be followed," he says. "I was born into a family with a rich cultural heritage." The Rajpipla royal family, of the Gohil Rajput dynasty, ruled a 13-gun salute princely state in Gujarat for more than 600 years. As the only male heir, he grew up under the weight of expectations around continuation of the royal line—long before he came to terms with being gay.He was raised in a palace where men and women occupied separate sections. Social interactions were governed by rules. Looking back, he sees a contradiction

in the world around him. "There is a lot of homosocial culture which exists in our country," he says. "You will see two men together or two women together, openly flaunting each other, openly being intimate with each other. That is acceptable in our culture. But if the opposite sex does the same thing in public, that is not acceptable."

Even inside the palace, friendships between men rarely attracted attention. "If I had to meet a girlfriend, I wasn't allowed to meet her unless somebody accompanied me," he recalls. "But if I had a boyfriend, he could walk into my bedroom and no questions were asked."At the time, however, Prince Manvendra did not understand his own sexuality. Like many Indians of his generation, he grew up with little information about homosexuality. Public conversations were rare. Representation was almost non-existent.It was only in his 30s, after the breakdown of his marriage, that he began to find answers. Those answers arrived through Bombay Dost, India's first gay magazine. The publication included a pen-pal section that allowed readers to connect with one another. Through it, Prince Manvendra met other gay men and eventually came into contact with Ashok Row Kavi, the founder of the Humsafar Trust and one of India's pioneering LGBTQ+ (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and more) activists."Through him, I got education and acceptance of my sexual identity," Prince Manvendra says. "He told me, 'Look, you're not alone. There are millions of people like us. This is a natural and normal phenomenon.'" The conversations changed the course of his life. "That's when my journey as a person who accepts one's sexuality began," he says. "Till then, I wasn't out to anyone." In 2000, encouraged by Row Kavi, he founded the Lakshya Trust, one of Gujarat's first organisations dedicated to working with LGBTQ+ communities. At the time, HIV was spreading rapidly across India, and public understanding of both HIV and homosexuality remained limited.

"We were still criminals in the eyes of the law," Prince Manvendra says. "The government needed organisations to work with these communities." Lakshya Trust's first contract came from the Gujarat government to work on HIV prevention and awareness among homosexual and transgender communities. The work exposed Gohil to stories that rarely entered mainstream discussions.Many of the men the organisation met were married. Social expectations often pushed them into heterosexual marriages despite their sexuality. The consequences extended beyond the men, and their wives were often affected too. According to Prince Manvendra, Lakshya Trust increasingly found itself engaging with women who were vulnerable because they lacked access to information about HIV and sexual health. Over time, the organisation expanded its outreach to include them.While the trust was growing, Prince Manvendra was facing his own struggles. In 2002, he suffered a nervous breakdown and was hospitalised. During treatment, he came out to a psychiatrist, who later helped him disclose his sexuality to his family. The response was painful. "They were not ready to accept it," he says. "They started looking for conversion therapies to cure me because they thought it was a disease and a mental disorder."The pressure mounted. "They thought if I got married to a girl, I would be cured of homosexuality," he says. "That is not a fact, but that was their way of thinking." The experience left him feeling trapped. "I was struggling to come out," he says. "I couldn't get humiliated and ashamed at the hands of my parents for no fault of mine."Then an opportunity arrived. A journalist approached him for an interview after learning about his sexuality. Unlike many people in his position, Prince Manvendra did not hesitate. "I was very happy to give that interview," he says. "Being closeted was too much on me. I wanted to enjoy my freedom."In 2006, newspapers carried the story. The headlines travelled across India and beyond. A prince from one of India's former royal families had publicly declared that he was gay.Today, he is known as the world's first openly gay prince. At the time, however, the attention came with consequences. "I got my freedom, no doubt about it," he says. "But I had to sacrifice a lot of things."He was thrown out of the family home. Death threats followed. Public scrutiny became a part of daily life.Still, he remained firm in his decision. "I said that I've reached this far now. I will fight for my rights and for the rights of my brothers and sisters from the LGBT community."The story soon reached audiences far beyond India. In 2007, Prince Manvendra appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show. He would later return twice more. "Many people started changing their mindset when they saw the show," he says. "She was very popular among people around the world."

His public profile grew, and a broader shift was witnessed in India. Over the years, LGBTQ+ visibility increased and legal barriers began to fall. He welcomed those changes but believes social acceptance remains as important as legal reform. "Pride for me is showing our existence," he says. "We exist as human beings. And as human beings, we have human rights." That belief continues to guide his work. His public life has also shifted into building institutions meant to last beyond him. "I turned 60 last year," Prince Manvendra says. "As a birthday gift to myself, I started a new foundation in my own name." The Manvendra Foundation, he explains, was created with a clear intention. "The idea was that after my death, the legacy should continue. The work should continue." The foundation works across five areas: LGBTQ+ communities, women, persons with disabilities, Scheduled Tribes and war veterans. He is also developing plans for a wedding destination for same-sex couples. "There are a lot of couples from outside India who want to come and get married here," he says. "India has such a rich cultural heritage. People want to experience those celebrations." The idea carries a personal connection. In 2013, the prince married his partner, Duke deAndre Richardson, an American citizen, in the US. Indian law does not currently recognise their marriage.When asked what has changed most since he first came out, he does not point to court judgments or television appearances. Instead, he talks about home. His father now lives with him. And, the irony that his husband helps care for him. "I always believe that we need to give time to people to understand these issues," Prince Manvendra says. "Especially with the older generation, you have to be very patient."As Pride Month begins in June, he is once again involved in organising celebrations in Gujarat - the Vadodara GarvaUtsav Pride Walk. The purpose of Pride, he says, remains simple. "We are appealing to the public to accept us with open arms and open minds," he says. "So that we get justice and are able to mainstream ourselves in society." For nearly two decades, Prince Manvendra has lived his life in public view. He became a symbol for many people long before he intended to. What remains unchanged is the conviction that led him to speak openly in 2006. "I wanted my freedom," he says.