Manvendra Singh Gohil

Some Lesser Known Facts About Manvendra Singh Gohil

• Manvendra Singh Gohil and Chandrika Kumari’s marriage remained incomplete in the first year of their marriage. Yuvarani Chandrika Kumari confirmed this in a statement released by her after their separation, in which she said,
  

  I am returning in the same state as I came.”

• In 1992, he moved to Bombay, where he met Ashok Row Kavi, a gay activist, who assisted him in realising his true sexual orientation. Gohil spoke about his friendship with Ashok in an interview and said,
  

  Ashok gave me valuable counselling, and it was through my friendship with him that I was able to accept that everything I had gone through in my life was called ‘homosexuality’! Through this connection to him, I realised that I am a gay man. So, I essentially came out to myself when I was in my 30s.”

  

• Manvendra’s parents came to know about his sexual orientation in 2002 after he experienced a nervous breakdown, as reported by Manvendra’s psychiatrists. To keep it a secret, his parents tried various conversion therapies on him. However, his parents failed, because US doctors refused to operate and said that homosexuality was not a mental illness.
• In an interview, while talking about the difficulties he faced, he said,
  

  I felt humiliated when my parents visited doctors in the hope that they could perform brain surgery, and electroshock therapy to make me straight. It was an absolute case of discrimination and violation of human rights. Whether I’m a prince or not a prince, parents have no right to put their children through this kind of torture.”

• He remained in the headlines for a week in 2006 when he came out as gay, following which, his parents disowned him as their son and accused him of defaming the royal family in a newspaper ad. The prince later reconciled with his family. ^[2]Tatler

• DeAndre initially didn’t know that  Manvendra belonged to a royal family. Manvendra was dating at the time, and Andre was already married to an American.

• In 2011, Manvendra and DeAndre had their first meeting after which they became close friends. In 2012, Manvendra broke up with his partner, and Andre divorced his husband.

• The prince acknowledged in an interview that he would frequently change the subject if someone brought up his relationship with DeAndre and tell them that he was his consultant, guide and spiritual advisor to keep his relationship a secret.

• Manvendra Singh Gohil belongs to a 650-year-old royal dynasty that dates back to 1370 AD, making him the 39th direct descendant of the Rajpipla throne.

• While growing up, Manvendra didn’t have many friends as the protocol of his royal family didn’t allow him to make friends with the children of non-royal families.

• He was raised by a governess. When he was ten years old, he realised that the woman he had grown up with was not really his mother, but rather merely a coworker.

• Manvendra Singh Gohil is left-handed due to which he never performed the royal family’s religious rites as these are performed by right-handed people. His parents have consulted many physicians to make him a right-handed person.

• According to Manvendra, his sexual orientation has often made him think about committing suicide.

• In an interview, he mentioned that once his 91-year-old former teacher and his 97-year-old secretary assisted him in a Pride parade to show their support for him.

• According to him, it was only after he married DeAndre Richardson that he began to communicate with his father more, and also in a less formal manner.

• Manvendra Singh Gohil after being married gave up some of the customs of a royal family and adjusted to some of his spouse’s habits because his spouse does not descend from a royal family.

• At the royal estate in Hanumanteshwar, Manvendra Singh Gohil and his spouse DeAndre Richardson opened India’s first LGBTQ resource centre in 2018.

• DeAndre Richardson designed the resource centre and it was developed by the Lakshya Trust. It aims to make financially independent individuals by imparting skills in various fields and giving a roof to those who have been disowned by their families due to their homosexuality. It is also available to LGBTQ allies who stand up for the community and their rights.

• He made a guest appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show on 24 October 2007, where he was one of the three people who were highlighted in the segment titled “Gay Around the World.” Later, in 2014 and 2017, he made two more appearances on the show.

  

• He declared in January 2008 that he would name a child from his extended family as his heir.

• He opened Sweden’s Euro Pride gay festival in July 2008.

• In 2009, he appeared in a BBC documentary series titled ‘Undercover Princes,’ which covered his journey of finding love in Brighton, UK.

• He is the editor of the gay men’s magazine Fun.

• During his 2017 appearance on the reality show Keeping Up With the Kardashians, he discussed the consequences of coming out as gay.

• In January 2021, after he met BJP’s Vadodara unit President Dr. Vijay Shah, it was reported in the media that he might join the party; however, Manvendra denied the rumours and said that it was a formal meeting. ^[3]Vice

• To support the gay community, the prince founded the Lakshya Trust in Gujarat in 2000. It is a community-based organisation that works to prevent and educate people about HIV/AIDS.

• During a speech at Sardar Patel University, Manvendra talked about the difficulties in promoting gay rights in India and said that the Indian Penal Code’s Section 377 was a hurdle in promoting these rights.

  

• The Lakshya Trust was recognised in 2006 with the Civil Society Award for its efforts to protect gay men from HIV/AIDS.

• He is an ambassador consultant for the AIDS Healthcare Foundation and a founding member of the Asia Pacific Coalition on Male Sexual Health.

• In 2021, he appeared in a Royal Recipes cooking programme that aired on the television network “Epic.”